Marcus Jones, the MP for Nuneaton, welcomed the fact that unemployment in the constituency has been more than halved.

“There is still more to do but I am delighted that the latest figures show unemployment in Nuneaton now stands at 1,080 compared to 2,223 in October 2010.

“This is great news for the more than eleven hundred additional local people who now have jobs – jobs that enable them to provide for themselves and their family. Halving unemployment locally since 2010 is a significant achievement. However, I feel strongly that unemployment locally would be even lower if the Borough Council were committed to ensuring that there was sufficient land allocated for commercial development and employment, and were committed to working with others to see badly needed town centre development come forward.

“The national unemployment rate of 4.3% is proof that the Government’s economic plan is working – unemployment hasn’t been lower since 1975. And I am particularly pleased that almost 3.5 million disabled people are now in work too.

“For those currently seeking work there is positive news with more than ¾ of a million vacancies – that’s an increase of 24,000 over this time last year.

“Getting people back to work or into work for the first time has been one of the Conservative Government’s key objectives and these figures show that local employers, be they big or small, are helping us succeed.”