Stephen McPartland MP has welcomed the record-breaking figures published by the Office of National Statistics which show there are more people in work than ever before.

Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage said, "It is particularly good to see youth unemployment dropping below 5% for the first time in history. General unemployment has also fallen to the lowest rate for over 40 years. More and more people are working full-time and in Stevenage the number of people on out-of-work benefits is 59% lower than in 2010. This is a massive boost for local families and really shows we have led the economic recovery locally, after Labour crashed the economy."

The ONS figures show over 3 million more people in employment since the Conservative Government was elected in 2010.

The employment rate for women is also at a record high of 70.8%, with over 15.1 million women in work. Additionally, the number of workers aged 50+ has reached a record 9.94 million, as people enjoy the benefits of living longer through healthier lifestyles and a world class NHS.

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