Union boss says Tory claims on economy are ‘laughable’
The union organisation said its analysis showed the UK has suffered the biggest rise in unemployment of any OECD country since the turn of the year.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A union leader has blasted Conservative “boasts” about the state of the economy as “laughable”.
The TUC published a report saying that the unemployment rate increased and job vacancies fell across the country in the first quarter of the year.
The union organisation said its analysis of official statistics showed that unemployment levels increased by 178,000 across England between October-December 2023 and January-March 2024.
The North West saw the biggest increase in unemployment (47,000) followed by the West Midlands (38,000) and London (37,000), said the TUC.
The UK has suffered the biggest rise in unemployment of any OECD country since the turn of the year, said the report, adding that the rise in unemployment in 2024 has coincided with a slump in job vacancies.
The TUC said real wages were still worth less than in 2008, millions of people were in insecure jobs and long term sickness is at record levels.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Rishi Sunak’s economic boasts are frankly laughable.
“It shows just how out of touch he and his Government are – and this complacency is costing Britain dear.
“In every single English region people’s job prospects have been deteriorating – with the unemployment rate rising and vacancies falling.
“The Conservatives are failing working people.
“Joblessness and economic inactivity are up.
“Over four million people are trapped in insecure work and real wages are still worth less than in 2008.
“Our country is crying out for change.
“We need a government that will make work pay and deliver better jobs, growth and living standards.”