The latest unemployment (JSA claimant count) figures for May have been released today and attached is a short briefing note and summary table that show the numbers, rates and trends in unemployment for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

The claimant rate for Staffordshire has decreased on the previous month and now stands at 1.6%, this is the lowest rate since June 2008.

Nationally new figures from the Office for National Statistics show that our Conservative long-term economic plan is working with more than two million jobs created in the private sector since the election. These strong jobs numbers are a clear sign that our long-term economic plan is working, building a stronger more competitive economy: the number of people in work has reached a new record high, unemployment is down, and youth unemployment is continuing to fall.

Staffordshire is now the fastest growing part of the fastest growing economy in the world, while up and down the country businesses are feeling increasingly confident about creating jobs, meaning thousands more people each day are getting the security of work. Each new job means another family more financially secure, with the prospect of a better and brighter future. 

We know that these remain difficult times for families, who are still feeling the impact of the Great Recession, but, as the IMF confirmed last week, the foundations for a broad based recovery are now in place. The only way to get living standards up is to build on these foundations and keep growing the economy and creating more jobs. The biggest risk to families’ economic security would be abandoning our long-term economic plan that is delivering this.

Labour left nearly half a million more people without a job and Ed Miliband predicted that our economic plan would ‘lead to the disappearance of a million jobs’.

But there are now more than 1.6 million more people in work and unemployment is down 329,000 on the election. Labour’s wild predictions about our economic plan have been exposed for the short-term politicking that they always were.

Labour don’t have a long-term plan to secure Britain’s future – all they care about is their own short-term self-interest – and hardworking people would be worse off as a result.

Philip Atkins

Leader Staffordshire County Council