There are more women working now in Britain than ever before: two thirds of us, or 14.4 million. Thats a rise of 368,000 in the last year, and of 771,000 since the start of the decade. Britains female employment rate is now well above the average in major industrialised nations. The Treasury is delighted with its figures. And George Osborne is thrilled too. Im thrilled as well, not least because most of the new posts are full-time and in highly skilled occupations.
Not everyone is happy, though. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) reckons that whatever the reasons for the surge in female employment, state help with pre-school childcare in England and Wales is making only a marginal and expensive difference. Research conducted by the thinktank, in partnership with the universities of Surrey and Essex, has concluded that the policy, introduced in 1998, costs approaching £66,000 for each person helped into work. Which does seem quite steep. Thankfully, however, these figures are so anal and literal that theyre almost without meaning at all.
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