Fall in unemployment highlights danger in cutting support for jobs

The fall in the number of unemployed people here in the East Midlands has been welcomed by Labour's MP for Chesterfield, Toby Perkins, a member of the Communities and Local Government select committee, but he also warned that cutting support for local jobs and the economy could damage the fragile recovery.

Toby said: "As the country comes out of recession, the extra support that Labour put into place to secure jobs and investment is being reflected in the fall in the number of people unemployed. But there is still more that needs to be done to support people back into employment.

"With the recovery still so fragile this is clearly not the time to be cutting back on support. We have already seen the Tory - Liberal Government cutting projects to help support young people into work and projects that will help boost the construction industry being scrapped and I am worried about the effect that will have on employment here in the East Midlands."

Responding the to the release of the unemployment figures, Yvette Cooper, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said: "These figures show just why it is dangerous and callous to cut support for jobs and the economy.

"May's small fall in unemployment is welcome and reflects the extra support Labour put into the economy as it started to come out of recession.

"But there's still little sign of private sector growth, with jobs in areas like construction still being heavily hit. And this is before the big spending cuts and the surge in young people leaving education this summer.

"Cutting 90,000 youth jobs and hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs while the private sector is still so fragile will condemn many people to a lifetime on the dole.

"In the 90s the Tories said unemployment was a price worth paying to cut inflation - now they clearly think it's a price worth paying to bring down the deficit."