Unemployment Up 76% In North Durham - So Much More Needs To Be Done To Tackle The Jobs Crisis

Unemployment is the biggest economic and social problem facing this country. The Government is not doing enough to get to grips with the problem - so much more needs to be done.

Figures released this morning show that 2.47 million people are now out of work. In North Durham, there are 2,515 people out of work. That is 76% higher than this time last year. That is over 1,000 more families suffering the effects of unemployment.

Unemployment has a devastating impact on communities, families, and of course the people involved. That is why our absolute priority as a nation must be getting people back to work and ensuring that the recession does not create a 'lost generation' of young people.

The Government has shown no imagination or vision to tackle the unemployment crisis. So much more needs to be done. We need to provide more support and advice for people out of work. We need to create real apprenticeships and training places. We need to incentivise business to take on more workers and provide the right environment for business to grow. We need to get credit flowing to business again so they are in a position to create jobs.

Above all, we need to replace this Government's inaction with real action to get people back to work.