Jobs for the future: The path back to full employment in the UK

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A higher employment rate would in the long-term ease some of the problems faced by successive governments in the UK. It would mean higher taxes and lower welfare payments, simultaneously making balancing the budget easier and ensuring sufficient funds are available for universal services such as health and education.

However the path back to full employment will not be an easy one. Evidence suggests that the public sector has been filling in for insufficient private sector job creation over the last 20 years. One certainty in the next few years is that public sector employment will fall, so if private sector employment does not increase rapidly, the economic recovery is likely to be weak or not 'jobs rich'. As it stands, the Coalition government's plans for growth and job creation will be insufficient to meet the combined challenges of high unemployment and growing labour supply over the next few years..

This report's recommendations focus on promoting growth in employment and limiting the expansion of long-term unemployment.

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