UNEMPLOYMENT in Mid Cheshire is at a 30-year low.
Northwich MP Mike Hall said the number of people without work in his Weaver Vale constituency has fallen by nearly half in the last seven years.
His comments came after figures showed that nationally 876,300 are registered unemployed.
The Labour MP said: 'A decade ago it seemed like there would always be three million unemployed. People believed it was impossible to end mass unemployment. Yet today we have the lowest unemployment for a generation.
'Unemployment in Weaver Vale has fallen by 49% over the last seven years from 2,602 in April 1997 to 1,321 in April 2004.
'But there's more to do. We need to secure this economic stability for a generation. We don't want to return to the depths of recession and unemployment we saw over the last three decades.
'In Cheshire we have achieved drastic cuts in unemployment, and long-term youth unemployment is down from 305 in April 1997 to 71 in April 2004.
Likewise, long-term unemployment is down from 484 in April 1997 to only 98 in April 2004. Halving unemployment in Weaver Vale is a major success and shows we're benefiting from a very well-run economy.
'We'll never return to the 'one job for life' culture of 30 years ago, but by making sure workers have skills, that there is a growing economy and supporting people's desire for career growth, we can keep employment high and unemployment down.'
And he warned that the Conservatives would seek to abolish work programmes, which he claims are responsible for the turnaround.
He said: 'The days of mass unemployment are behind us, but only because the Government has focused on increasing employment, supporting investment and helping the unemployed get off the dole through the New Deal.
'When Tory leader Michael Howard was employment secretary, unemployment rocketed by a million. That's more people than are unemployed in all of Britain under Labour. Now Howard is Tory leader - and he wants to abolish programmes like the New Deal.'
