Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
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Employment
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts(9 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)
Given the encouraging increase in the employment figures, will the Minister comment on the disappointing fall of 84,000 in the 16 to 24 age bracket? Can he give any information about regional variations? For example, is the problem worse in rural areas?
Lord Freud
My Lords, one of the myths about the improvement in employment is that it is concentrated in the south, particularly in London. The reality is that the bulk of the improvement—75% to 80% of it—has taken place outside London. The youth figures are extremely encouraging, because youth JSA figures are now running at some of the lowest levels we have seen for many years.