In Britain, unemployment has fallen as output has risen and employment has grown by nearly 800,000 during this recovery. The UK now has more of its people in work and a lower unemployment rate than any other major European economy. Not least because the additional costs on companies are considerably lower in this country than elsewhere in Europe. For every 100 pounds of wages, in the UK the employer has to add 18 pounds in non wage costs. It was for reasons such as these that this Government opposed the social chapter.
Excessive regulation destroys jobs.
In the UK only 12 per cent of employers believe that. The UK is currently experiencing the longest, sustained period of low inflation for almost fifty years and we remain on course to meet our inflation target. The Bank of England share this view. To put this in tangible terms. The weekly supermarket trolley of shopping for a family is between the low 70s pounds and the high 80s pounds per week.