Chamber response to employment statistics
Date published:
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.”
Key statistics:
- Employment in the North East stands at 1,138,000, a fall of 31,000 (2.7%) over the quarter and a fall of 22,000 (1.9%) over the year. The North East employment rate stands at 70.3%. This compares to a rate of 75.5% nationally.
- North East unemployment stands at 66,600, a fall of 800 (1.2%) over the quarter and a fall of 16,500 (19.9%) over the year. The North East unemployment rate stands at 5.3%. This compares to the national rate of 4.2%.
- Economic inactivity in the North East stands at 416,000, an increase of 28,000 (7.2%) over the quarter and 32,500 (8.5%) over the year. The North East economic inactivity rate stands at 25.7%. This compares to a rate of 21.2% nationally.
- The claimant count stands at 89,600 in the North East. This is a fall of 2,100 (2.3%) over the month and a fall of 30,700 (25.5%) over the year. The claimant count rate for the North East is 6.2%, compared to 4.9% nationally.