Unemployment figures revealing EU failures

Euro-MP Paul Nuttall

New EU unemployment figures showing year on year increases demonstrate how the European Union is failing people, said local MEP Paul Nuttall.

"While there are morsels of good news the overall trend for workers in the EU shows that their political leaders are failing them and their families.

"Employment is on the up across the continent, in large part due to the regressive policies produced in Brussels. Things are even worse for the under 25's where the average unemployment rate is over 22%".

The EU statistics Agency Eurostat's monthly unemployment figures show increases both in the Eurozone - from 10.2% to 11.4% - and the EU 27 countries - from 9.7% to 10.5%.

"Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in twenty member states, fell in six and remained stable in the UK," said Mr Nuttall, UKIP Deputy Leader.

"Britain employment rate is treading water at present. If it wasn't for the baleful influence of anti-employment EU regulations and directives it would be a far happier story. Rules such as the Temporary Workers and the Working Time directives make it harder and harder for British businesses, especially our entrepreneurial small businesses to go out and employ new staff.

"Labour have been calling at their conference for the rapid implementation of the European Youth Job Guarantee. These Eurostat figures suggest that the only guarantee the EU holds out for youth employment is more of it, and worse.

"It just shows how utterly out of touch Labour are when it comes to driving our economy forward," said Mr Nuttall.