London Editor
Economic recovery in Cornwall appears to have stalled as the number of workers employed in the private sector has fallen by 9,000 since the coalition Government came to power.
Some 176,000 people said they were employed by business, rather than the state, across the county by September last year, down from 184,000 in the summer of 2010.
The Government has been pinning its hopes on business growth to drag the UK out of the economic mire, but there have been few indicators the plan is working in the Westcountry while public spending is slashed.
Cornwall appears to be bucking the national trend, where the figures are positive after recording a net increase during the period with 741,000 more workers stating they are private sector employees, bringing the nationwide total up to 22.1 million.
Indeed, just across the Tamar, in Devon, 37,000 extra people told official surveyors they were employed by business, an increase from a 368,000-strong workforce to 405,000.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "Across the country we've seen an extra one and a quarter million people in private-sector jobs since early 2010, but we know there is still more to do.
"The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Cornwall has fallen over the past year and the Government is working hard to give jobseekers the help and support they need to move off benefits and into work."
The Government has long hoped jobs being created in the private sector will replace thousands of posts going at councils and other areas of public sector through austerity. Ministers have given small firms a National Insurance "holiday", committed billions of pounds to the Regional Growth Fund and earmarked 22 "enterprise zones" where planning regulations are relaxed and tax breaks offered, including at Newquay airport. The A30 is to be upgraded too.
But there have been few clear signs the strategy has been working as records of the number of people in employment are only broken down to South West level, rather than to Devon or Cornwall.
The breakdown of the figures, according to data based on the Office for National Statistics' Annual Population Study deposited in the House of Commons library, are:
Area Private jobs June 2010 Private jobs Sept 2012 Net Change (1,000s) Cornwall 184 175 -9 Plymouth 80 91 11 Torbay 40 44 4 East Devon 45 45 0 Exeter 39 39 0 Mid Devon 27 26 -1 North Devon 30 35 5 South Hams 31 32 1 Teignbridge 38 47 9 Torridge 21 26 5 West Devon 17 20 3
Cornwall and Mid Devon were among scores of areas to see private sector jobs fall.
Jude Robinson, Labour's sole county councillor in Cornwall, said many in the county were "paying the price for the coalition's economic failure", adding: "Cornwall's position always made it more vulnerable to economic downturns, which is why Labour gave such a lot of support when in Government and invested in jobs and infrastructure.
"Now, many Cornish residents are facing a perfect storm of job losses, low pay, reduced support from government and higher prices. Local MPs slavishly follow the government line as their constituents suffer – when we had a Labour MP, she stood up and shouted for us."
But Adrian Sanders, Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, welcomed the boost to private sector jobs in his area, which has been hit hardest by the slowdown.
He credited commitment to investment in the long-awaited South Devon link road to bypass Kingskerswell, thanks to more than £70 million of Government help.
"It reflects the fact we have seen a sharp decrease in unemployment, though we still have a long way to go," he said. "Now people are seeing the bypass physically appear there is a sense of confidence in the area."
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit – the dole queue – lengthened in Devon and Cornwall in February, official figures showed on the day of the Budget. Some 30,200 adults in the two counties last month claimed the benefit – 140 more than in January. But the figure is well below the recent peak of 32,570 recorded in January 2012.
