Stockport Labour Group has called for a jobs guarantee for people out of work for over two years after the latest unemployment figures revealed a 50% increase in those people out of work for over two years across Stockport.
Latest Labour Market Statistics released by the Office for National Statistics show that total unemployment rose by 7,000 in the North West. The latest figures also revealed that the number of people aged over 25 claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) for over 2 years rose by 260 (50%) in the last year across Stockport. The Labour Party has been calling for a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee to get any adult unemployed for more than two years, or any young person out of work for a year, into a paying job.
Tackling long-term unemployment will be a top priority for the next Labour government because we know from the 1980s that it has a scarring effect on individuals and communities, damages our economy and society, and builds up long-term costs for the taxpayer.
Cllr Kate Butler, Shadow Spokesperson responsible for Benefits and Welfare, commented on the latest unemployment figures: “What we are continuing to see is the failure of this Government’s policies to get those people out of work for long periods back to work. The 50% rise in people on Jobseekers Allowance for over two years is a real worry. Labour is calling for a guarantee of a paid job for any adult out of work for over two years and for young people out of work for more than one year. That would be real help now for people in Stockport who are desperate to get back to work.
“The latest figures also show that more and more people, who work part-time and want to work longer, can’t do so. Most of the jobs that have been created lately are actually part-time and don’t provide the security or income that people need to cover the ever rising cost of living.”
The latest Labour Market Statistics show that across all four parliamentary constituencies in Stockport, the number of people aged over 25 claiming JSA for over 2 years increased from 515 in July 2012 to 775 in July 2013. The latest Labour Market Statistics also show that nationally there were 1.43 million part-time employees who could not find full-time jobs, an increase of 25,000 on the quarter.
Once again this Government’s record on unemployment is lamentable. It’s so called welfare to work programme is nothing of the sort. The Work Programme’s results have been worse than doing nothing with just two in 100 jobseekers helped into sustained employment.
The government’s wider economic failure, with a flatlining economy and rising long-term unemployment, means the welfare bill is set to be over £13 billion higher than George Osborne planned. Our Jobs Guarantee for adults will build on the model of the Future Jobs Fund with government working with the private and voluntary sectors to ensure there is a job paying the minimum wage for every long-term unemployed person.
While getting people back to work will save the taxpayer money in the long-term, the upfront costs of Labour’s jobs contract can be funded by reversing the Government’s decision to stop tax relief on pension contributions for people earning over £150,000 being limited to 20 per cent. When times are tough it cannot be right that we subsidise the pension contributions of the top 2 per cent of earners at more than double the rate of people on average incomes paying the basic rate of tax. £1 billion a year would fund a compulsory jobs guarantee initially for all those out of work for 24 months or more – which we would seek to reduce to 18 or 12 months over time.
Key Facts about Labour’s Compulsory Jobs Guarantee
- These are real jobs paid at the minimum wage. Alongside these jobs will be intensive support with job-search from the Work Programme and training to find people their next permanent job after the six months are up.
- The employer must actually create a new job and cannot use this money to sack another worker and replace them with a person from this scheme.
- The Compulsory Jobs Guarantee would be paid for by taxing bankers’ bonuses and restricting pension tax relief for the wealthiest.