Greg Hands, Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has welcomed new figures which show that the number of people in Chelsea & Fulham claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit while not in employment has fallen by a further 145 since October 2014, and by 892 - a 47 per cent drop – since 2010.
The official statistics show that the Conservative Government’s long-term economic plan continues to create jobs and increase wages for families in Chelsea & Fulham and across the country. At 73.7 per cent, the UK’s employment rate has never been higher, and the UK is moving towards the goal of full employment that the Conservative Party committed to in their manifesto.
The figures also show that average pay growth is now 3 per cent – while inflation is close to flat – meaning that the Conservative Government’s plan for a high-employment and high-wage economy is working.
This is being seen across London, with 536,000 more people in work since the last Labour Government, and also in the UK as a whole, where 2.1 million more people now have the security of a job than in 2010.
In response to these new statistics, Greg Hands said: “These figures are excellent news, showing that the number of people in Chelsea & Fulham relying on Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit while out of work has fallen by 145 over the past year, and a total of 892 – a 47 per cent drop – since 2010.
“With full-time employees making up three quarters of the increase in employment over the past year, and with wages rising by 3 per cent, it is clear that the Conservative Government’s plan for a high-employment and high-wage economy is working – and we can see that right here in Chelsea & Fulham.
“But we must not rest on our laurels. There are more than 700,000 job vacancies, which shows that we have the opportunity to help even more unemployed people back into work. And we must guarantee that our economy creates new jobs by ensuring that we have a government which lives within its means and sustains our economic recovery.”