GOVERNMENT IS STILL FAILING TO GENERATE EMPLOYMENT

With long-term youth unemployment in my constituency up by 333%, our young people are still paying the price for this Government’s economic failure

But ministers are still clinging to the failing policies that have driven our economy back into recession.

Out of touch ministers need to wake up to the jobs crisis they're responsible for and take urgent action now. They should start with Labour’s Real Jobs Guarantee and get our young people back to work."

The headline fall in unemployment today is a welcome respite in a blizzard of bad economic news.

But today’s figures show we've got to redouble our efforts to get Britain back to work.  Unemployment throughout the Midlands increased, and 90% of the fall in unemployment across the country was in London. Long term youth unemployment is still going through the roof and part-time work has hit an all time high as people struggle to find a full time job.

Crucially, there are now huge-warnings signs on the road ahead.  Our economy is not even in the slow lane – it’s in reverse.  Britain is only one of two G20 countries in recession, and the Governor of the Bank of England says there is little more low interest rates can do.

That means the government has got to act now to put more fuel in the tank of its back to work plan starting with a tax on bankers bonuses that could create the funds to kickstart the construction sector and get over 100,000 young people back to work.