Rugby unemployment – January setback but trend still in the right direction

Sadly the claimant count for Rugby's unemployed was 70 up in January bringing the total number of people unemployed and claiming benefit to 608. This is probably due to Christmas seasonal work coming to an end. The longer term trends in Rugby continue to be in the right direction. The number of people unemployed and claiming benefit is 417 down on the figure a year ago and 1,542 below the figure for the last January Labour was in office (January 2010).

Not everyone who is unemployed is eligible to claim benefit. The Office for National Statistics reckons the total count for unemployment in Rugby is 2,000 but this is 1,500 below the figure last time Labour was in office.

Some critics of the coalition's economic policy claim that all that has been created are part-time jobs. This is not true for Rugby. The Office for National Statistics reckons there are 1,100 more full time jobs in Rugby than when Labour was last in office.

The Office for National Statistics figures show that wage rates are now starting to creep up again in Rugby and that during the period of the coalition government the gap between women's full-time wages and men's full time wages has narrowed. (When Labour were in office women in Rugby were paid 69% of male wages. The most recent figures show this has risen to 73%). There is of course still much to be done.

Rugby Liberal Democrats believe that providing appropriate youth training is vital to reduce unemployment and to enable people to be able to go on to earn a proper wage. The coalition government has secured two million apprentices - see http://www.libdems.org.uk/celebrating-the-creation-of-two-million-apprenticeships . The ministerial team in charge of this work is led by the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, Dr Vince Cable.