Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart Andrew Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

Simple answer: a lot less than it would have been under Labour.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

6. What recent estimate he has made of the level of employment.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

There are a record number of people in work, and 1.8 million jobs have been created since 2010. We are also seeing the largest fall in youth unemployment on record. But too many people remain without a job, which is why we are determined to achieve full employment by helping businesses to take on new staff, and reforming welfare so that it always pays to work.

[Stuart Andrew]

Unemployment continues to fall across Leeds, and in my constituency it has fallen by 39% to 1.8%. That is providing families with the stability and security of a regular pay packet. But is my right hon. Friend aware that of the 2 million jobs created, more than three quarters have been in full-time employment, and does not that show that the long-term economic plan of this Government is building a healthier and stronger economy?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I remember visiting with him Hainsworth & Sons, a textile company in his constituency, which is now exporting to China. In his constituency, as in others, we have seen a dramatic fall in unemployment. Unemployment is down 31% in the last year; youth unemployment has fallen too. Many of those jobs are in full-time employment, as he says, but of course we are also supporting those in self-employment.