The number of people on Job Seekers Allowance remained almost exactly the same as last month at 1,231 or 2.6% of the workforce in March 2009. Although this is a 120% increase from March last year when the number of job seekers was 552, there has been no further deterioration in March since February 2009. The number of open positions has also dropped to 202 from 230 in February 2009, meaning that there are now 6.1 job seekers per vacancy locally, compared to 1.1 a year ago.
Harriett Baldwin said, "The local job market is much weaker than it was this time last year, but at least the pace of deterioration seems to have stabilised. However, in the next few months we will have school leavers and university graduates joining the job market and we must ensure that they can keep developing their skills and gain experience. A Conservative government would act now to help the many thousands of young people who face a jobs crisis this summer. Instead of letting thousands of science, maths and engineering graduates leave university in June only to face life on the dole queue with their student debts, we would create 25,000 new places for masters degrees. To help youngsters working to get their apprenticeships, but who are now losing the prospect of any qualifications if they lose their job, we would allow them to finish their training at a college or with another employer.
If we do not act in today's Budget we are going to lose the next generation of engineers and scientists. The Budget must help the thousands of graduates and people on apprenticeships so they are not scarred for life."