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A Pre-election Boost for Labour - The Job Figures That Really Count
Posted by Tracey Cheetham (@tchee)
Wednesday, 21st April 2010
Critics will undoubtedly be focusing on the overall figure of those who are “workless” following today's announcement of the latest unemployment figures by the Office of National Statistics. This has shown that the overall number of those of working age, but not in work or claiming benefits, rose by 43,000 in the three months to February this year.
It is an interesting figure but in terms of the value of the information it gives, it receives a disproportionate amount of attention. Especially from those who see a rise as a point-scoring opportunity. Never mind that it could also be affected by some positive changes, such as more students in full-time education, or it could even be a boost for David Cameron's idea of traditional families, with one parent choosing to stay at home to look after the children!
The significant figure that the ONS released, that will be ignored by the opposition in their rush to criticise Labour, is the number of jobless claimants that registered in March. This fell significantly by almost 33,000 and comes after a revised figure for February, showing that jobless claims fell by over 40,000 during that month. This is particularly important because it is the largest drop in unemployment claims since June 1997 - something that the Tories and Lib Dems will be desperate to keep quiet as it harks back to the halcyon days of the first term of this Labour government, when everyone still loved us.
If this news also ties in with another growth in GDP – as figures being released on Friday are expected to show – it will be a fantastic pre-election boost for Labour's handling of the global economic downturn and proof that the Good Ship "Economy" is safest with Brown at the helm.
