Just to add this to the mix concerning the government(s) doing something to ‘create’ jobs:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18024447

These ‘job creation schemes’, to use a phrase from the past, are being particularly targeted at areas with high-levels of public-sector jobs. Areas outside London and the South-East have a higher proportion of public-sector jobs (it may surprise some people) because successive governments have tried to spread these jobs around the country. It spreads central government spending and also lowers cost (as it avoids paying London salaries) but unfortunately during a time of reduced government spending it hits these areas badly.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has criticized the expenditure per job ‘created’ in some cases and the amounts of money being spent are large but the jobs created are in the private sector. It would be interesting to know what sort of jobs are being created and if they will last long-term when government funding is removed.