BREXIT BRITAIN’S BOOMING!
Remain doom-mongers talk down our economy, yet a record number of Britons are now in work and more foreigners have jobs than before the referendum
MORE Britons are in work than ever despite predictions of huge job losses in the event of a vote for Brexit.
Official figures released yesterday showed that employment is at a record high, with more than 2,000 people finding work every day.
The workforce has grown to 32.34million – the highest level since records began in 1971, according to the Office for National Statistics. The total has risen by 609,000 since the referendum of June 2016.
Before the vote George Osborne claimed up to 820,000 jobs could be lost within two years if Britain chose to leave.
‘These figures just show how ridiculous and discredited Project Fear is,’ said proBrexit Tory MP Andrew Bridgen. ‘Britain has nothing to fear from taking back control of its money, its borders and its laws.’
Sir Bill Cash, a fellow Conservative MP, said the figures showed Brexit was ‘a great opportunity’ that was being put at risk by diehard Remainers.
The ONS also said the number of European Union citizens working in Britain had gone up since the referendum.
Almost 2.37million had jobs in March – 155,000 more than in early 2016. And workers from outside the EU have risen by 235,000 over the past two years.
Yesterday’s report from the ONS raised hopes that the economic slowdown at
the start of this year would be temporary. The economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the first quarter while output per hour – a key measure of productivity – dropped by 0.5 per cent.
But Chancellor Philip Hammond said: ‘We can be proud of our record on jobs. The unemployment rate is at its lowest in over 40 years.’
John Longworth, the former head of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘Once again Project Fear has been trounced by the outstanding jobs figures.
‘At the same time, we see that the German economy has slowed and unemployment remains unacceptably high in many EU countries.’
An extra 3.2million people have joined the workforce since the Tories came to power in coalition in 2010. Four in five
‘We can be proud of our record’
men aged between 16 and 64 are now in work, the highest proportion since 1991. Unemployment has dropped to a 43-year low of 4.2 per cent – compared with 8.5 per cent in the eurozone.
The total fell by 46,000 over the first three months of the year to 1.42million – 116,000 lower than a year earlier. An average of 2,189 jobseekers found work every day in the first three months of the year.
John Hawksworth, chief economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: ‘The great British job-creating machine kicked back into life in the first quarter of 2018.
‘All of this good news stands in marked contrast to the subdued GDP growth of just 0.1 per cent. This estimate could be revised up. But productivity growth turned negative again after a couple of quarters when it seemed to be perking up.’
Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation, said the post- crisis jobs boom in the UK was a big achievement given persistent fears over the threat to jobs from technology and machines.
Esther McVey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: ‘Since 2010 we have seen 3.2million more people move into work right across the UK.
‘Youth unemployment has fallen by over 40 per cent and the unemployment rate at its joint lowest since 1975.
‘Today’s figures once again cement that turnaround, with a new employment rate record of 75.6 per cent, and on average over 1,000 people each and every day, since 2010, getting a job. ‘With wages growing faster than inflation and increases in the personal tax allowance, not only are more people bringing home a pay packet but they are keeping more of their hard earned money.’
The Bank of England believes the official growth figure of just 0.1 per cent in the first quarter will be revised up to 0.3 per cent over time.
But its deputy governor sounded a note of caution last night by describing the economy as ‘ menopausal’ and past its peak. Ben Broadbent told the Daily Telegraph that Britain may be experiencing an economic trough comparable to the one at the end of the 19th century.
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club, said: ‘The labour market figures suggests that the economy may not be as weak as some of the recent data suggest. It may fuel hopes that the economy can bounce back after GDP growth slowed in the first quarter.’
The ONS also said wages were rising at the fastest pace for nearly three years as businesses took on more staff.
Average pay rose 3 per cent to a record £484 a week in the year to March. It was the biggest rise since 2015 and ahead of inflation at 2.5 per cent.
THE contrast could hardly be starker. In the Westminster bubble, doom-mongers wail over Brexit, exaggerating obstacles and generally predicting disaster.
But back in the real world, yesterday’s jobs figures tell a story of British businesses brimming with optimism. More than 2,100 people are finding work every day – sending the total in full-time employment rocketing to yet another record high.
Do Remoaner politicians think firms would be expanding like this (or that the number of foreign workers in Britain would have soared since the referendum) if the outlook were as grim as they say?
Quite why senior ministers weren’t touring the TV studios yesterday, proclaiming this great Tory achievement, is a mystery.
Meanwhile, most of the EU remains in deep trouble, burdened with horrendous youth unemployment in the south, strikes in France, a farcical political stand-off in Italy and public unrest everywhere over open borders. Even mighty Germany’s economy is slowing.
Isn’t it high time our negotiators stopped behaving as if the UK is at the mercy of Brussels – and started using our considerable leverage?
As this paper has long argued, our soonto-be ex-partners sell far more to us than we do to them, meaning they need a trade agreement at least as much as us.
Yet all we get from Jean-Claude Juncker and Co is sour negativity about Britain’s proposals. It’s about time they were told that if they want our generously- offered divorce cash and free access to our markets, they must start helping with the negotiations. Otherwise, no deal.