At a more micro level...

Further to the last post about the growth in public sector jobs over the past 10 years, the Daily Mail yesterday reported on academic work done on the concentration of public sector jobs at a more local level.

The percentages employed in the public sector in the most pronounced cases are:
Castle Morpeth 57.1%
Wansbeck 47.5%
Durham 46.7%
Hastings 43.7%
Cambridge 41.6%
Ceredigion 40.7%
Oxford 40.7%
Torfaen 40.4%
Inverclyde 40.0%
Stafford 40.0%

So what are all these people doing? Are these towns academic or health centres? No, but they are the location for much of the regional Government activity. Oxford and Cambridge clearly reflect the presence of the universities.

Some of these places also had higher than average percentages of people of working age who are on benefit, but these are in addition to the figures quoted above. In some, when both are included then as much as 60% of people of working age are dependent on the State for jobs or benefits It is little surprise that of the ten areas, eight have Labour sitting members of parliament, while two have LibDems.

These figures are of concern for at least two reasons:

1) We have local socialism, without a revolution, so cheer up, comrades. A few more years of Brown will bring us economic misery, but the new age may have dawned.

2) Many of the jobs, and especially those in controlling and regulating local business, will be a drain and a waste of resources which could be more productive in other employment.