Patrick Nolan

No one should be in any doubt that eliminating the deficit will be a challenge. As statistics released yesterday illustrated, spending cuts on the scale necessary will put many jobs at risk. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that fiscal consolidation will mean 610,000 public sector jobs will be lost. Softening this blow is the forecast growth in jobs in the private sector, which is expected to mean that, overall, the level of employment will rise by around 1.3 million over the next five years. Read more...