Poorer men are being driven out of full-time work. Here’s why | Simon Jenkins

The south-east booms while other regions stagnate, and low-paid, part-time jobs proliferate – a smarter safety net is needed to remedy growing imbalances

The latest figures for employment are as good as they are bad – and as intriguing. Unemployment continues to fall, now below 5%, a level not seen since before the 1970s recession. The Office for National Statistics has announced that average pay rose last year by 2.4%. Even the pay gap fell. “Income for the poorest fifth was up 5% and for the...