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North East tops UK unemployment rate as latest figures reflect steel crisis impact

Labour Market Statistics have revealed that North East unemployment has risen by 5,000, reflecting job losses in Teesside over the last quarter amidst the steel crisis.

North East unemployment now stands at 109,000 people, or 8.7% of the region’s population, higher than a national rate of 5.2%. For the 3 months ending October 2015, the North East had the highest rate of UK unemployment.

Similarly, employment in the North East stands at 1,179,000, or 68.5%, lower than the 73.9% national rate. Moreover, the region’s 3.9% claimant count, representing 47,800 people, is again higher than the 2.3% national average.

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How many jobs do we need to lose in the North East before the government sits up and takes notice?

Beth Farhat, Regional Secretary of the Northern TUC, said: “This is going to be a worrying time for more and more people in our region who are out of work this Christmas. Over the last three months unemployment in the North East has increased by 5,000 and risen by 18,000 over the last six months though you wouldn’t think that from listening to ministers.

“The Northern Powerhouse means nothing if you’re one of the 112,000 unemployed people in the North East. To make things even worse there are thousands more public sector workers at risk of redundancy as a result of the Conservative government’s desire to shrink the state and keep on slashing local public services despite greater need.”

She added: “How many jobs do we need to lose in the North East before the government sits up and takes notice?”

Paul Carbert, Policy Advisor at the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), said: “It seems that the unfortunate news on job losses in Teesside earlier this year are reflected in these figures, despite the positive signs of increased recruitment we have picked up from our members across the region.

“Yet again, the labour figures are generally flat, with some cause for concern in the stubbornly high unemployment rate. The North East is the only region in the country not to see a decrease in unemployment over the quarter, and the unemployment rate remains the highest of any region.

“During September 2015 the number of workforce jobs in the North East decreased by 26,000, the largest fall in the country, however the majority of this appears to be due to a decline in self-employment, rather than employee jobs.”

Fiona Thom, economist at the North East LEP, said: “It’s important to look at today’s statistics in the context of longer term trends which show that unemployment has fallen from a high of 10.3% just over two years ago to today’s level.

“Employment and unemployment have both increased slightly in the North East in the last quarter which has occurred as people have moved from inactivity to being active in the labour market, either in work or actively looking for a job.

“The reduction in inactivity levels is positive for the region as more people are available and wanting to work. Today’s figures should also be seen in the context of last week’s ONS Gross Value Added data which measured the value of the economy based on the production of goods and services.

“GVA in the North East increased by 3.3% to £47.7bn in 2014, adding £1.5bn to the regional economy compared to the previous year. In the past three years, the North East is one of just four regions in the UK to have recorded increasing economic growth in successive years.”

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