§ 9. Mr. Michael Clapham (Barnsley, West and Penistone)How many regions of the United Kingdom have employment rates as high as the EU average. [143467]
§ The Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities (Ms Tessa Jowell)Latest data from the labour force survey show that all regions in the United Kingdom have employment rates higher than the European Union average of 64.2 per cent.
§ Mr. ClaphamI thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does she agree with me, however, that all regions of the UK have areas of high and low unemployment? The areas that tend to have the highest level of unemployment are those in which the local economy is in transition. Does my right hon. Friend further agree that although the new deal has been very helpful in areas such as Barnsley and south Yorkshire in directing young 1231 people into new jobs, it is essential that employers continue to provide a high level of training so that young people can have transferable skills, as that boosts the economy and helps British competitiveness? Does she further agree that the employment policies of the Conservative party would be an unmitigated disaster for Barnsley and south Yorkshire?
§ Ms JowellI think that my hon. Friend's constituents and everyone on this side of the House would strongly agree with his last point. The recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s hit the country as a whole and we saw 2.5 million manufacturing jobs go. Those recessions hit his constituents in Barnsley particularly hard. He is right to pay tribute to the positive contribution of the new deal for young people which the Opposition, were they to be elected, are pledged to scrap. The new deal for young people has seen long-term youth unemployment in my hon. Friend's area fall by 74 per cent. since the election. The other major boost for the local economy is an extra £1.7 billion through the objective 1 status which south Yorkshire now has.
My hon. Friend is also right that the partnership between employers, unions and workers focusing on the improvement of skills, particularly the skills required in the new economy—the new labour market—is key to raising productivity.
The best future for my hon. Friend's constituents is a continuation of the policies that have promoted economic stability under this Government, enabling us to see the prospect of long-term unemployment as a thing of the past. For his constituents, that future would be threatened by the return to boom and bust, the hallmark of the Opposition.
§ Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset)As the question related specifically to the European Union, will the Minister comment on whether this economic success is due to staying out of the euro? We were told that if we did not enter the euro, our unemployment rates would rocket while those in the European Union would fall.
§ Ms JowellThere is no clear correlation between membership of the single currency and employment rates—[HON. MEMBERS: "Ah!"]—if we take, for instance, Sweden—[Interruption.] Conservative Members conduct business by heckling, Mr. Speaker. In the UK, employment rates in every region are higher than in the EU as a whole. The EU average conceals large variations. The secret of the UK's success is a combination of minimum standards at work and labour market flexibility.
Let us not forget, however, that close to 2.7 million jobs rely on our trade with Europe—about 60 per cent. access to one of the largest markets, post-enlargement, in the world. We shall make judgments about entry to a single currency in the light of the five economic tests—one of which will be the impact on jobs—when the time comes.