Britain’s jobs miracle proves there is no reason to fear technology

Another week, another set of economic figures that suggest the country is showing remarkable resilience while politics implodes. Rather than fall into recession, as so many predicted, the economy leapt forward in July. We now have the lowest unemployment for 45 years, an extraordinary figure. Income inequality is near a 30-year low. The confidence crisis that politicians are experiencing is not reflected outside of Westminster.

There is little evidence to suggest that machines are taking people’s jobs. Instead, they are being used to do low-end tasks, freeing up humans to work in more complex, better-paid roles. We now have machines taking restaurant orders, checking people in at airports and fulfilling other functions inside various businesses. But never has the economy needed more people to be in work. Wages are growing at the fastest rate in 11 years. The proportion of workers employed on zero-hours contracts — a hated concept among many in the Labour party — is at 2.7