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How Many Jobs Has the New Deal Created?
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In other words, after four years of the New Deal youth employment is estimated to be only 16,000 higher as a result of the programme77.
The 75% claim In its 2001 General Election Manifesto, the Labour Party stated that “The New Deal has already helped to cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent . . .”. The Government presumably arrived at this figure by simply taking the claimant count for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds in April 1997 (177,500) and comparing it with the same figure four years later (40,800)78. This is highly misleading: • more than 42% of this fall happened before the New Deal even started79; • the New Deal reduced youth unemployment by only 35,000 in the first two years80; • the New Deal increased youth employment by only 15,000 in the first two years81; • those in the New Deal Options are not counted as “unemployed”82. As the Government’s own study stated: “Youth unemployment of 12 months or more had virtually disappeared by this time. The main reason for the latter was that, after 10-12 months of unemployment, all NDYP participants were required to enter an Option, which ended their unemployed status.”83