However, alone they cannot guarantee such an outcome. Benefit payments must not undermine the incentive to work. Receipt of unemployment benefit must be conditional on recipients looking for work. In the last economic cycle employment grew by 1.5 million - a better performance than in any cycle since at least 1960. We must take this warning seriously.
Promotiong employment is our responsibility.
We must act decisively. Economic Secretary Angela Knight was speaking at the annual Ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation in Paris.