Oral Question·Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
“What steps her Department is taking to support innovation in all regions of the UK.”
Tabled: 8 June 2023Answered: 14 June 2023
Asked by
Sir Edward Leigh
Conservative — Gainsborough
Answering Minister
the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Answer from Hansard
The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)
The unemployment rate is 4.7%—well below the historic high of 11.9% in 1984—but no one should ever be complacent about unemployment, especially considering the significant jump in economic inactivity under the Tories. That is why I am pleased to tell the House that employment is up by 725,000, to 75.3%, since July 2024 and inactivity is down by more than the rise in unemployment—a reduction of 400,000.