More jobs were created in Yorkshire last year than in the whole of France, the Employment Minister has revealed after a question from Shipley MP Philip Davies.
The shock news came as Shipley MP Philip Davies urged ministers to ensure jobcentres back job fairs organised by MPs to help people back into work.
Mr Davies – who held a Jobs fair in November which saw businesses and organisations come together with 300 vacancies on offer, said: “Many Conservative MPs in Yorkshire have held jobs fairs in the constituencies. Job centres should always support these jobs fairs to ensure as many jobseekers as possible come to them.”
Employment minister Esther McVey praised Mr Davies’ efforts to get people into work as she told him in the year to September 2014 figures from the Office of National Statistics showed employment rose by 6,500 in Shipley and nearly 30,000 in Yorkshire.
She added: “Due to these events (job fairs) and welfare changes and the success of our economic long term plan, in fact more jobs were created in Yorkshire last year than the whole of France, something I am sure Mr Davies is particularly pleased to hear about.”
Latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics last week reported a drop of 59 fewer people claiming Jobseekers’ allowance in the Shipley constituency compared to last month.
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