Unemployment in Southampton Test Up 10% in a Year
14th September 2011
Alan Whitehead MP has challenged the Tory Council in Southampton and the Tory-led government after new figures published today show unemployment in the west of Southampton has shot up by 10% in a year.
New figures published today show a 10% rise in unemployed people in Southampton Test since August 2010. This equates to 235 more people in the west of our city looking for work.
The figures also show the biggest rise in unemployment across Britain for 2 years. This fast rising unemployment is pushing up the benefits bill by £12 billion- or £500 for every British household.
Dr Whitehead said:
“These figures show there is an urgent need for a stronger local plan to tackle unemployment. Hampshire lost 1000 jobs for young people when the Tories abolished the Future Jobs Fund last year. Today’s figures show these jobs have not been replaced by ones from the private sector- in fact quite the opposite.
“In July Labour put forward plans to introduce a tougher tax on bankers’ bonuses, and to use the revenue to build more homes and create new construction jobs. I hope the Government looks again at those plans in the light of today’s unemployment figures and the worrying slowdown of the economy over the last year.”
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