100,000 council jobs cut since 2010
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 100,000 jobs have been lost in local authorities across England since the general election, including in Cornwall County Council, according to a new study.
Research by the GMB union showed how public sector cuts were having an impact on employment levels, with a fall of 6.4% since the coalition Government was formed last year.
At the end of the first quarter of 2010 there were 1,584,219 full-time equivalent workers in English councils, excluding teaching staff, but this had fallen by 101,094 by the end of June this year, the study found.
The highest number of job losses were in Kent County Council (3,107), followed by Manchester City Council (2,549), Norfolk County Council (2,358) and Cornwall County Council (2,295), said the GMB.
The report was published ahead of new unemployment figures on Wednesday, with speculation they will show that more than a million young people are now out of work. The GMB said many of the jobs lost in local government could have gone to young people.
Brian Strutton, the union's national officer, said: "The awful reality is that in England alone local government job losses since the general election have topped 100,000. There is still more to come.
"Council workers and their families are paying a terrible price for the Government's austerity drive. These job losses are on top of two years of pay freezes and cuts to conditions and pensions.
"Care workers, refuse collectors, street cleaners, social workers and all the essential front-line council staff are bearing the brunt while those at the top wring their hands and look on.
"How much more are people expected to take before someone admits that the economy is on its knees and we should be supporting working people, not sacrificing them?"
PA
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