CENTRAL Devon MP Mel Stride has welcomed new job figures that show the employment rate in the UK has hit a new high of 74.2 per cent and the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.1 per cent; the lowest for a decade.

Mr Stride, who started his own business from scratch and ran it for 20 years before entering Parliament in 2010, highlighted the figures on youth unemployment as particularly encouraging.

He said: “These are a very positive set of figures with 400,000 more people in work compared to this time last year and wages continuing to rise around two per cent higher than inflation.

“They are even more impressive when compared to other advanced economies around the world – unemployment in France is twice that of the UK and while 86 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds in this country are in full-time study or work, youth unemployment in Spain is 45 per cent.”

Mr Stride also welcomed local figures that show a five per cent annual drop in the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) in his constituency and a 55 per cent drop since 2010.

He added: “Fewer than 400 of my constituents now rely on JSA. Across 550-square-miles, from Okehampton to Crediton and down to Buckfastleigh.

“This Government’s pro-business policies are paying off, although there is, of course, never any place for complacency.”