Commenting on todayís labour market statistics, Ian Brinkley, chief economist at The Work Foundation, said:
ëAmid all the talk of an imminent financial crisis, the picture painted by todayís figures is one of relatively steady good health in the labour market. The labour supply is roughly keeping pace with expanding demand, the private sector has once again discovered its job-creating role, and the number of economically inactive people ñ an intractable problem throughout Labourís first two terms ñ is at least not getting worse.
ëThe big growth area of the economy continues to be the financial and business services ñ part of the increasingly obvious ëknowledge economyí story of working Britain. This sector alone has added 161,000 new jobs in a year.
ëYet these figures also show that the spending clampdown is finally showing up in the jobs market. Public sector employment has fallen by 11,000 since March this year, leaving the public sector smaller in employment terms than it has been for many years.í
Comment on today's labour market statistics
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