A SENIOR South Lakes Conservative has said the government is to thank for record employment figures.

Employment in the country continues to grow and is now at a record high – with more people in work than ever before and unemployment at its lowest since 1974, giving families the security of a good job and more money in their pockets thanks to another month of rising wages, the Tories said.

South Lakeland Councillor, Tom Harvey, has welcomed these figures, saying: “These latest jobs figures are another sign that the Conservatives are providing opportunities for people across the country."

More than three million people are in work across the north west.

But the number of people classed as unemployed in Cumbria rocketed by 255 in February, the seventh consecutive month of rises.