There's something very odd going on in the labyrinthine world of official jobs statistics.
The latest Government construction employment figures describe an industry that few would recognise, a gently expanding sector untroubled by the credit crisis and seismic shockwaves that shook house building to its foundations.
It is laughable but, according to the number crunchers at the Office of Government Statistics, the industry employed 2,285,000 in December - a mind-boggling 47,000 more than the same time in 2007.
Did somebody in Whitehall notice something that passed the industry by or have our civil servants learned the secret of defying gravity?
Bean counters are often charged with being detached from reality, but these figures come from another planet. Anybody with a passing interest in construction knows this is simply not the case. Job creation remains the single biggest issue.
At a better time, such jobs figures would at least provide a welcome dose of light relief, if it were not for the fact that they shape Government policy and long-term strategic thinking.
In the world of Whitehall, construction looks like it is weathering the storm nicely.
In the real world 100,000 jobs disappeared in the rubble of the house building collapse, and losses continue to balloon from a steady flow of staff lose their jobs at consultancy firms, contractors and manufactures.
In such a stormy economy numbers assume real importance, but it is better to be left in the dark than misled, which is far more dangerous.
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Comments (1)
It feels good to know that construction is the only sector which is not too adversely affected by the credit crunch. :-)
Posted by Construction | March 26, 2009 9:54 PM
Posted on March 26, 2009 21:54