Rachel Maclean, the MP for Redditch County, has welcomed figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday (June 12th), which show the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Redditch has fallen by 48 per cent since 2010.
The sharp fall in the number of people out-of-work shows that the Conservative Government’s plan to make Britain fit for the future is working.
After Labour left Government in 2010, the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in Redditch stood at 2,369. This has now fallen by a staggering 48 per cent between May 2010 and May 2018, figures from the ONS show.
The number of people in Redditch claiming out-of-work benefits in May 2018 was 1,139. This is 55 lower than April 2018. The number of young people aged 18 to 24 out-of-work has also more than halved in the past five years.
Figures released by the ONS also show employment is at a record high of 75.6 per cent – that’s 32.39million people in work. The UK’s unemployment rate is also at its lowest level since 1975.
Rachel said: “These aren’t just numbers, these are real people who are now back in work and benefiting from a regular paypacket. With a drop of 48 per cent in Redditch’s claimant count rate, that’s more than a 1,000 people now able to provide for their families. And with wages rising faster than prices, paypackets are going even further too.
“I’m not being complacent, of course there is still plenty to do to get even more people here in Redditch back in to work. That’s why I’m backing the Government’s Industrial strategy, which will create thousands of new jobs, and supporting the Conservative Government’s handling of the economy which has led to more people in work than ever before.”