TUC highlights labour market successes under Labour

More and better jobs have been created in the five years since 1997 compared to the previous five-year period, according to a new report from the TUC.

Things have got better compares the labour market during the 1992-97 period to the five years since Labour was elected in May 1997. On most counts it finds that things have improved.

Long-term unemployment fell steeply and excluded workers have been brought back into work. Workers are also better off as wages have grown faster since 1997 and the gap between public and private sector pay has closed significantly.

Seventy-five percent more jobs have been created since 1997 - 1.29m as opposed to 740,000 between 1992 and 1997, according to the report.

The jobs created since 1997 have mostly been permanent and nearly two-thirds of them full time. In contrast between 1992 and 1997 most new jobs were temporary and part time.

Unemployment has fallen significantly since 1997, from 7.2% of the workforce to 5.1% in Spring 2002.

Long-term unemployment fell slowly before 1997 but in the five years since 1997 the number of people out of work for more than 12 months has halved.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The scare-mongerers were wrong about new employee protections and welfare reform costing jobs. We are now closer to full employment than at any other point in the last 25 years."

Thing have got better is available from: ww.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-6943.f0.cfm