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DAVID Cameron cast doubt on the credibility of his latest jobs pledge yesterday when he claimed the Tories had created 18 million jobs over the last five years.
The Prime Minister pledged yesterday to create two million more jobs in the next Parliament during a tour of Sainsbury’s headquarters in central London.
But he dropped a humiliating clanger earlier, telling Sky News that the government hadcreated 10,000 jobs a day since 2010.
That would equate to 18 million jobs and is many times more than the most generous estimate, which is 1.89 million or 1,000 jobs a day.
Labour shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said: “Reheated and empty announcements from David Cameron will mean little to working people whose wages are on average £1,600 a year lower.
“The government’s failure on low pay has seen a 44 per cent rise in the number of people paid less than a living wage under David Cameron.”
Regardless of Mr Cameron’s gaffe, unions said his two million job promise was “nonsense” too.
With official unemployment currently at 1.86 million, unions claim the PM is effectively promising to wipe out joblessness altogether.
RMT leader Mick Cash said: “This pledge is total nonsense. In the sectors we organise — rail, shipping and offshore — the whole drive is to axe jobs, with thousands still under threat in the North Sea alone.
“No-one in the real world, where the constant threat of losing your livelihood is hanging over your head, will believe this rubbish from David Cameron for a moment.”
It comes as DIY chain B&Q announced plans to close as many as 60 stores over the next two years, affecting workers.
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: “David Cameron’s claims will ring hollow with the millions struggling to make ends meet in low-paid insecure work.
“He plucks figures out of the air, but is silent about the need for decent jobs that pay a decent wage, because on his watch we’ve seen a shift to a low-waged, low-skilled economy where zero-hours contracts have become the model of choice for many employers.”
