Chamber comment on today’s employment figures
Date published:
Rhiannon Bearne, director of policy and representation at the North East England Chamber of Commerce said:
“Today’s employment figures once again paint a difficult picture for the North East. The North East continues to have the highest unemployment rate and the lowest employment rate across the UK. We are the only region to have experienced slight decreases in jobs and employment overall from November 2021 to January 2022.
“We remain the region with the highest economic inactivity rate in England – too many people have left our workforce altogether.
“Closing these gaps is now urgent as the UK faces another challenging economic period. It is vital that the North East, our people and businesses, are not left further behind. We welcome today’s announcement of David Buttress as the Government’s new Cost of Living Business Tsar. The North East business community is ready to offer practical solutions to some of these important regional challenges.”
Notes:
Employment in the North East stands at 1,202,000, an increase of 5,000 (0.4%) over the year to April 2022. The North East employment rate stands at 71.2%. This compares to a rate of 75.6% nationally.
North East unemployment stands at 66,000, a fall of 15,000 (18.5%) over the year to April 2022. However the North East unemployment rate stands at 5.2%. This compares to a national rate of 3.8%.
Economic inactivity in the North East for those aged 16-64 stands at 403,000, an 20,000 (5.2%) increase on the year to April 2022. The North East economic inactivity rate stands at 24.8%. This compares to a national rate of 21.3%.
The seasonally adjusted claimant count stands at 71,200 in the North East. This is a fall of 1,400 (1.9%) over the month and a fall of 38,000 over the year (34.9%). The claimant count rate for the North East is 5.1%.
The employment data covers the period February to April 2022. The provisional claimant count data is for May 2022.