Member Article

North East unemployment rate double that of the East, South West and South East

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures have revealed that unemployment in the region stands at 109,000, or 8.6%, a rise of 12,000 over the quarter.

The unemployment rate in the North East is the highest in the country and double that of the South West, the South East, and the East of England.

Statistics also show a fall in North East employment, highlighting that the region has the lowest employment rate of all the English regions.

The average rate of employment for Great Britain is 73.7%, it stands at 68.2% in the North East with only 1,164,000 employed.

Beth Farhat, Regional Secretary of the Northern TUC, said: “The 12,000 increase in North East unemployment is a chilling wake-up call for the Conservative government ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review next month. George Osborne’s economic policies have led to an uneven recovery and our region’s working people are paying the highest price.

“There has been a 7,000 increase in North East female unemployment and given that two thirds of public sector workers are female, women are very much in the firing line as the Chancellor prepares for even deeper cuts to services.

“The tsunami of job losses on Teesside that will emerge as a result of the government failure to support our steel industry will tragically add several thousand more skilled people to unemployment queue in the months ahead.

“Government ministers are quick to come to the region for the photo opportunities when there is good news to announce but seem to hide away when the going gets tough. We have warned about government complacency on North East unemployment for months and now it’s time for urgent action. We desperately need an economic strategy focused on investment in our industry, the needs of our region and not relentless cuts with no regard to their impact.”

Jonathan Walk, NECC head of policy and campaigns, added: “We had recently picked up a softening in hiring intentions so it is disappointing, although not surprising, to see the North East is the only English region to see such a negative change in its employment rate.

“We believe these figures can be attributed to a combination of factors including a slowdown in the oil and gas markets and a fall in public sector jobs, which our region is particularly exposed to.

“Given that these statistics do not include the recent news of the SSI closure on Teesside, it is vitally important that efforts are maintained to support businesses to recruit and invest in staff right across the region.

“Our members are still reporting plenty of long-term confidence in the economy. Coupled with the fact that unemployment is still significantly lower than this time last year and private sector employment is up 18,000 over the year, we still have cause to believe recent unemployment trends can be reversed in near future.”