Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely has welcomed figures showing that nearly a million disabled people have found work since 2013.
The Department for Work and Pensions calculate there are 973,000 more disabled people in employment following government initiatives such as Disability Confident – a scheme designed to support businesses in recruiting and retaining disabled people and people with health conditions.
Figures also show the employment level is at a new record high, and, at 4.1%, the unemployment rate has almost halved since 2010 when it stood at 8%.
In a further boost, three-quarters of this increase in employment has been in permanent, full time and higher skilled roles.
On the Isle of Wight generally, the number of unemployed people across all abilities rose to 1,525 people in October 2018.
Mr Seely has said:
“These figures show this Government has done a great deal to get everyone into work and also show that wages have grown by 3.2% – the fastest wage growth in almost a decade – and above inflation for the last eight months.
“Youth unemployment is almost half the figure in 2010 and there is a near record high for women in work at 71%.
Article continues below this advertisement “There is still work to do but these figures show a robust jobs market and economy both on the Isle of Wight and across the country and this is very welcome.”
