NEW FIGURES from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there are 298,586 more people in a job across the South West since 2010 which has helped to grow the region’s economy.

Commenting on the figures, Central Devon MP and secretary of state for work and pensions Mel Stride, said: ‘While there is a lot more to do, particularly on bringing inflation down further, it is very encouraging to see a record number of people in work.

‘The government is doing everything it possibly can to remove barriers for parents on universal credit to take on more hours, to support people with disabilities to access employment opportunities, and to help people over the age of 50 who took early retirement after the pandemic to return to work.’

Nationwide, there are currently four million more people in work since 2010 and a record 33.1 million people in work in the UK - up 382,000 over the last year.

The ONS statistics have also shown that unemployment is at a near record low of 3.8 percent - down from 7.9 percent in 2010. This is the lowest it has been since 1974.

The figures also show wages growing at their fastest pace outside of the pandemic at 7.2 percent. This means that the employment rate is currently at 76 percent , up 0.3 points over the past year and up 5.8 points since 2010.

The employment rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are in employment. The unemployment rate measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks, but does not take into account those cannot work or those who are not seeking work.