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The previous Conservative Government left office with low unemployment. In stark contrast, it is well-known that every Labour Government there has ever been, has left office with higher unemployment than when they took office. Last week the latest employment statistics were published, which with it being July’s data, meant a year of Labour being in office could be analysed.
Clear trends have emerged that are concerning. Nationally, unemployment has risen for ten months in a row, by 206,000 in total, and the number of people claiming Universal Credit has soared by over a million, to eight million people. There are now almost four million people of working age who are on benefits with no requirement to find work.
While we get the national figures, we don’t tend to get much reporting these days of local unemployment statistics, so I looked them up in the House of Commons Library. Given what’s in there for Crawley, it perhaps comes as no surprise that Crawley’s Labour MP doesn’t proactively share this data
In Crawley we have 3,700 people claiming unemployment related benefits, which is a 5% increase in the number of people from one year previously. Now higher than the national average of 4.7%, the claimant rate in Crawley was 4.8% for July, up from 4.7% in June. Sadly, unemployment in Crawley keeps ticking upwards and while it is very bad news for those directly affected, it is bad news for our town as a whole and our local economy.
According to the House of Commons Library, half of the total increase in Crawley’s rise in unemployment over the last year has come from 18–24-year-olds. We have 590 of 18–24-year-olds in Crawley who are on unemployment benefits, which is a significant increase of 19% more people than a year ago.
Crawley has historically been a place of low unemployment but now it has crept above the (rising) national average. It's heartbreaking to see young people being shut out of the world of work and the opportunities that ultimately brings. The National Insurance rise in particular has led to recruitment freezes and that disproportionately impacts younger people at the start of their working lives. It needs reversing and if (now we are in this doom loop that Labour created) that isn't possible, then even a halving of it could lead to firms hiring once again and doors being opened for young people.
The Government needs to change course. Labour’s economic policies of ever higher taxes, higher borrowing and higher spending will only continue to damage business, hurt the economy and fuel inflation. Ultimately it is people who are paying the price, and Crawley’s young people are paying a heavier price than most.
