Yesterday's headline figures on unemployment masked the mixed news on jobs that came out from across the devolved nations.
As highlighted yesterday in Nicola Smith’s piece for Left Foot Forward, mixed employment figures for the last quarter must be evaluated with utmost caution and perspective. Whilst job loss across England is slowing over time, a lack of new job creation and the imminent budget cuts mean that the unemployed and financially unstable are unlikely to see their prospects improve.
In response to the news that the number of those out of work had again risen in the three months leading to April 2010, TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, warned that it “should serve as a stark reminder to the government that the jobs market is still bleak”.
The headline figure however masked the mixed news that came out from across the devolved nations.
Wales
Whilst the UK continued to face the spectre of increasing numbers of people out of work, could Wales have turned a corner? Welsh figures show a fall in unemployment of 10,000.
For politicians of all colours across Wales, reaction was one based on cautious optimism.
On behalf of the UK coalition government, Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan said:
“I welcome the fall in unemployment in Wales but it remains unacceptably high, and we must never forget the individuals behind these figures. For anyone who loses their job, it is heartbreaking for them and their families.”
For the Welsh Assembly Government, deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones pledged that Cardiff Bay would “do all it can to aid the recovery with the levers we have at our disposal”, whilst making a far less coded attack on the government’s cuts, saying:
“It is the duty of all levels of government not to take actions that could jeopardise this fragile recovery.”
The news came as the Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Mark Polin, warned that the cuts to come could have an adverse impact on frontline policing. He said:
“We do know and we all recognise that things are going to be difficult. I will do our very damnedest to make sure frontline services are maintained. Whether that will be achievable, only time will tell.”
Scotland
Across Scotland, the picture was somewhat mixed, with figures showing that in the three months to April, the number out of work had risen by 7,000 to 212,000 whilst the number of jobless adults claiming benefits fell 1,000 to 134,000 in May.
Reacting, the Liberal Democrat Scottish secretary, Michael Moore, said:
“We must take tough steps – but in doing so will help restore confidence in our economy and support the recovery.”
As with Plaid Cymru however, the SNP administration sought to put the pressure on the Coalition Government not to do anything that might harm what is a fragile recovery. Jim Mather, enterprise minister in Scotland, reacted on behalf of the Holyrood government:
“Today’s figures show that decisive action to support jobs and recovery is what Scotland needs, and is being delivered by this government. And that is exactly what we will be looking for from the UK Chancellor in his budget next week.”
The news came as a BBC investigation revealed that Scottish councils expected to be forced to shed approximately 10,000 jobs as part of the cutbacks that are to come.
Northern Ireland
Across Northern Ireland, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by 100 during the last quarter, with total unemployment rising by 0.6 per cent over the same period.
In responding, Northern Ireland’s enterprise minister Arlene Foster said the figures made the case for aiding private sector growth, adding:
“This remains a difficult time for people in NI, as it will take some time before any economic recovery can be translated into sustained jobs growth and employment opportunities.”
The figures come just days after Ms Foster’s DUP colleague, finance minister Sammy Wilson, starkly declared:
“The good years of increased year-on-year public spending have come to an end.”
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