Countryside 'ignored' over employment
Official figures released by the Tories reveal that at the end of 2009, there were an estimated 299,000 people unemployed in rural areas, compared with 228,000 at the end of 2008 and 182,000 at the end of 2007.
The 64 per cent rise is higher than a 52 per cent increase in unemployment in urban areas.
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Hide AdThe Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Nick Herbert, said: "Gordon Brown's recession has hit rural areas hard and the loss of jobs in our villages and market towns is having a devastating effect.
"Labour has ignored the countryside and their jobs tax will kill the recovery."