Nearly 8 Million Of Working Age Without Work

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 11th Feb 2004

New employment figures out today being trumpeted by the Government as the 'best labour market for a generation' ignores the eight million people of working age who are not working.

Government records for the 'economically inactive', defined by the Government as people who are neither in employment nor unemployed, show that numbers have reached 7.8million people - up by 249,000 since 1997.

The largest yearly increase for any age group has been the 18-24 year olds (the group covered by the New Deal for Young People). For this group, the economically active figure has increase by 82,000 to a total of 1,324,000.

Paul Holmes MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Work, said: "Millions of people have been betrayed by this Labour Government. It's shocking that so many young people have been ignored and sidelined."

"The Government shouts about how well it is managing employment levels but turns a blind eye to the millions of working age who are not working."

"There are shocking numbers of people who are not working and not in the Government's official unemployment figures. This may be evidence that benefit sanctions only drive people towards the black market. The New Deal is in dire need of reform. Forcing people to jump through hoops is not the answer to youth unemployment."

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Today's ONS figures reveal that there are now 7,848,000 economically inactive people of working age in the UK.

• The figure has increased from 7,599,000 in May 1997 to the current 7,848,000 - an increase of 249,000.

• The largest yearly increase for any age group has been the 18-24 year olds (the group covered by the New Deal for Young People). For this group, the economically active figure has increase by 82,000 to a total of 1,324,000.

• The Government defines 'economically inactive' as "People who are neither in employment nor unemployed. This includes those who want a job but have not been seeking work in the last four weeks, those who want a job and are seeking work but not available to start work, and those who do not want a job.