Several opposition parties have labelled the government’s claim that it has created 40,000 new jobs in the private sector as a “beautification”, reveals Jyllands-Posten.

According to the MPs, the ‘new jobs’ they refer to are predominantly part-time and student jobs – some consisting of as little as a few hours of work per week.

Citing figures from last year’s economic statement, they contend the number of hours worked in the private sector has in fact fallen slightly since the government took office in the autumn of 2011.

Blue bloc critical
The blue bloc has been left flabbergasted by the government’s statement that it has “created 40,000 private jobs – while Løkke has lost 100,000 private jobs”.

“You have painted a nice picture, but it is not the reality,” Venstre MP Peter Christensen told Jyllands-Posten.

Similarly, Ole Birk Olesen from Liberal Alliance labelled the government’s presentation as outright “manipulation and deception”.

Employment vs hours
In last year’s economic statement, the government even noted that the increase in private employment is not linked to a corresponding increase in the number of hours worked.

Yet, Socialdemokraterne’s spokesperson for economic issues, Jesper Petersen, insists the government’s economic policy is a success.

“The most important thing for us is that more people are employed in the private sector than ever before,” he told Jyllands-Posten.

“The fact that some of these jobs have gone to students will do nothing to destroy my pleasure. Right now, all the economic indicators are pointing in the right direction for us.”