Small dip in jobless figures for county

ACCORDING to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, unemployment in Sussex remained relatively flat in May, with a dip of just 285 unemployment benefit claimants across the county.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Jun 2011, 15:15 BST

There are now 26,624 claimants in Sussex, compared with 26,909 in the previous month.

Commenting on the figures, Mark Froud, Chief Executive of Sussex Enterprise said: “These figures are fairly positive, with a slight fall in unemployment in Sussex. Nationally there was a large fall in unemployment amongst young people and a significant increase in private sector employment. However, there are some worrying features such as the number of people working part-time because they could not find a full time job rose to a new record high.

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“Overall, these figures confirm that the private sector is willing and able to create jobs, despite the likelihood of more public sector job cuts in the coming months. The Government must empower the private sector to create jobs by reducing the burden of regulation on businesses, particularly smaller firms.

“Nationally the figures also show a further reduction in earnings growth, confirming our view that there is no immediate risk of a wage-price spiral. This should strengthen the hand of those MPC members that want to delay any increase in interest rates. The top priority must be to support and nurture the fragile recovery.”

Related topics:SussexGovernment