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Number of Channel migrants reaching 50,000 under Labour is ‘unacceptable’, says education minister – UK politics live
Jacqui Smith, an education minister, says number shows ‘criminal gangs have an absolute foothold in the tragic trafficking of people’
The Department for Work and Pensions has just released figures showing the number of people claiming universal credit (UC) has hit a record high of eight million.
Claimants jumped by more than a million in a year – from 6.9 million people last July.
Taken together, these latest figures point to a continued cooling of the labour market.
The number of employees on payroll has now fallen in 10 of the last 12 months, with these falls concentrated in hospitality and retail.
