Happiness is on the rise in Hinckley!

PEOPLE in Hinckley and Bosworth are the happiest they have been in at least six years.

In 2016/17, people in the area rated their happiness levels at an average of 7.8 out of 10 in 2016/17, according to the Government’s wellbeing survey.

Happiness levels were up from 7.6 out of 10 in 2015/16 and are at their highest levels since the survey began.

Oadby and Wigston is the happiest place in Leicestershire, and one of the happiest places in the UK. People in the area rated their happiness levels at an average of 8.2 out of 10 in 2016/17, making it the fifth happiest place in the UK.

People’s happiness rating in the area was up from 7.8 in 2015/16, and at its highest levels since the survey began.

In comparison, people in Charnwood are the least happy locally, giving an average rating of 7.5 out of 10, down from 7.6 in 2015/16.

In Leicester, people rated their happiness levels as 7.36 out of 10, up from 7.56 in 2015/16 and the highest rating since the survey began.

People in Harborough gave one of the highest average ratings for life satisfaction, rating it at 8.2 out of 10 in 2016/17, up from 7.9 in 2015/16, as well as one of the highest ratings for life being worthwhile, rating it as 8.4 out of 10, up from 7.9.

Craven in North Yorkshire is the place where people are happiest.

Respondents rated their average happiness as 8.3 out of 10 in 2016/17, up from 7.5 in 2015/16, meaning the area overtakes Eilean Siar, which was the happiest place in 2015/16 in the UK.

People in Hertsmere are the least likely to give high marks for happiness the day before, with people there scoring an average of 6.9 out of 10.

People in Craven also have the highest life satisfaction, rating it as 8.5 out of 10, while people in Wolverhampton have the lowest, 7.1 out of 10.

For feeling life is worthwhile, people in North Warwickshire gave the highest rating at 8.7 out of 10, while the lowest was in Cheltenham at 7.4.

People in Adur felt the most anxious, scoring levels the previous day at 3.7 out of 10, while those in Craven were the least anxious, just 2 out of 10.

Across the UK, average ratings across the four measures of personal well-being in financial year ending March 2017 were: 7.7 out of 10 for life satisfaction, 7.9 out of 10 for feeling that what you do in life

is worthwhile, 7.5 out of 10 for happiness yesterday and 2.9 out of 10 for anxiety yesterday.

Comparing the years ending March 2016 and 2017, there have been statistically significant improvements in average ratings of life satisfaction, up from 7.67 to 7.68 out of 10, and happiness, up from 7.49 to 7.51, for the UK overall. There was no change in average ratings of anxiety and the sense that things done in life are worthwhile.

Matthew Steel, from the Office for National Statistics, said: “Today’s figures may surprise some, showing a small increase in both reported happiness and life satisfaction during a period that has seen political change and uncertainty.

“It’s worth noting that employment rates rose during the period covered by this report, and other ONS analysis showed people perceiving an improvement in their own financial situations and in the overall economy.

“These are factors we believe may account for some people’s increased sense of personal well-being.”

There were no changes in the proportion of people who reported their ratings of life satisfaction, worthwhile or happiness as low.

“This indicates that increases in mean life satisfaction are being driven by more people reporting the highest levels of well-being, rather than a decrease in those reporting the lowest levels of well-being.

The 4 personal well-being questions were:

Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?

Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?

Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday? overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?

People are asked to respond on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is “not at all” happy and 10 is “completely” happy.