Jobless figures rise in region as rest of UK’s fall

UNEMPLOYMENT has risen in the North East as signs grow of problems in the region’s economy.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the North East’s unemployment rise has risen to 5.3% in the three months to the end of October, bringing to an end a fourmonth run of falling figures.

That rise comes at a time of falling unemployment nationally, and leaves the North East and London as the only areas in the UK with unemployment above 5%.

The figures come a day after an influential business survey suggested the North East was the only region in the country to see a decline in economic activity in November, with the NatWest North East Business Activity Index recording the fastest reduction in local output since January.

There was some positive news in the region with the number of people claiming unemployment benefits falling by around 3,500 to 87,780. But there are concerns that the rise of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and restrictions on some business activity could hamper the regional and national recovery.

Arlen Pettitt, knowledge development manager at the North East England Chamber of Commerce said: “Unfortunately, the North East is once again the economic outlier. While across the rest of the country unemployment rates are falling, ours has remained static. And while nationally we’re talking about a fragile but sustained recovery, in the North East the figures don’t support that.

“Our region’s employment rate has fallen and, critically, our economic inactivity rate – which includes those with caring responsibilities and with temporary or long term illness – has increased. That’s out of step with the rest of the UK, and represents a big challenge for the region. With restrictions returning with the arrival of the Omicron variant, it’s vital that businesses are supported and jobs protected, especially in those sectors – like retail and hospitality – which are most vulnerable to what is set to be another very difficult Christmas period.”

North East LEP chief executive Helen Golightly said: “For the third month in a row we have seen a decrease in the employment rate, meaning there are fewer people in work, but more significantly, an increase in the economic inactivity rate, which is the number of people who have left the labour market and are not actively looking for work. This has increased more than any other English region and the gap between the North East and the next English region (Yorkshire and the Humber) is significant.

“The North East region has an additional 33,000 working age people who are inactive compared to the same period in 2020. Recent increases in inactivity have been particularly large among the youngest workers, but there have also been increases among those aged 35 to 64. There is more work to do to understand the detail behind these changes, but it is now apparent that because the North East region has the highest inactivity rate across all regions in England, we need to work with Government to ensure a swift implementation of the Skills White Paper and to ensure the Levelling Up White paper is published and progressed early in 2022 with no further delays.”

Nationally, Britain’s jobs market has strengthened further despite furlough ending as the number of payrolled workers jumped by a record 257,000.