WORKING Britain erupted in Budget brouhaha yesterday after Chancellor George Osborne shamelessly denied that his feted 1.9 million new jobs were insecure and badly paid.

Unions and opposition politicians have repeatedly slammed the Chancellor for failing to account for the growth of part-time work, bogus self-employment, zero-hours contracts and a heavy concentration of new jobs in the south of England.

Mr Osborne directly addressed these claims in his Budget speech yesterday, saying: “What about those who say: ‘The jobs aren’t real jobs, they’re all part-time, they’re all in London?’

“Nonsense. How many of the jobs are full-time? Eighty per cent. How many of the jobs are in skilled occupations? Eighty per cent.

“And where is employment growing fastest? The north-west.”

New joblessness figures yesterday saw dole queues shorten in these regions — but Scotland and the east of England were saddled with unemployment that swelled by 6 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

“For all of the window dressing today, they can’t tackle insecurity at work because they think that’s how we compete,” said Labour leader Ed Miliband.

“They can’t make work pay because they believe low pay is how we succeed.”

Official figures published yesterday put the jobless total at 1.86 million, the lowest since the summer of 2008.

Employment increased by 143,000 in the latest quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

But self-employment soared to 4.5 million — close to a record high and accounting for a quarter of all employment.

And confirming the government’s brutal assault, public-sector employment fell to 5.4 million, the lowest since current records began.

GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said that the Chancellor had claimed more recoveries in the past five years than the RAC.

“Even skilled workers in the UK face being undercut while wages are stagnant or falling in real terms,” he complained.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said that Mr Osborne had failed to discuss “the huge growth of zero-hours and other insecure jobs.”

“The Chancellor’s Britain, where happy people skip to their secure jobs to celebrate their rising living standards, is not one that many will recognise,” she said.