Stephen Boyd: Time to get ready to grow

The great joy of labour market statistics for politicians is that the range of data published monthly is rarely such that specific figures cannot be extracted to tell a story more positive or negative than the totality of the release warrants. This is especially true if a comparison with other nations, rather than absolute performance, is your primary consideration.

Nearly two years after the recession technically ended, the latest figures are worryingly poor. Unemployment increased on both Independent Labour Organisation and claimant count measures. Long-term unemployment increased on every measure. The number of 18-24 year olds claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by over 5,000 in the month to July. Yes, we might expect that as school and college leavers and university graduates enter the labour market but it is a significant increase on this time last year.

Women continue to be disproportionately affected due to public sector job losses and welfare reform measures. For every full-time vacancy advertised by Jobcentre Plus in Scotland there are more than ten claimants; approximately double this in five local authority areas.

This week’s statistics also confirm another surge in “underemployment”. Indeed, only last week a Scottish Government report estimated that there are 190,500 people in Scotland who want to work more hours but can’t. And let’s not forget the near 188,000 people recorded as “economically inactive” who would like to work.

In Scotland we continue to pay the economic and social costs of high unemployment through the 1980s and 1990s. As the economy tanks on fear of low growth (not the deficit) and investors pay the UK government to take their money, surely now is the time to build new infrastructure, create jobs, increase revenues and boost our long-term capacity to grow?

l Stephen Boyd is assistant secretary of the STUC