Figures from the Labour Market Survey released today reveal that unemployment in Lancashire has gone up again, with Burnley, Lancaster and Fleetwood and Preston suffering the most.
Across the UK, the figures also indicated the employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 71.4%, virtually
unchanged from September to November 2012 but up 0.9 percentage points
from a year earlier. There were 29.70 million people in employment aged
16 and over, down 2,000 from September to November 2012 but up 488,000
from a year earlier.
There were 2.56 million unemployed
people, up 70,000 from September to November 2012 but down 71,000 from a
year earlier. The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 22.2% (the
lowest since 1991), down 0.2 percentage points from September to
November 2012 and down 0.7 from a year earlier.
Across the UK the
employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 for the three months to
February 2013 compared to the three months to November 2012, showed very
few large changes.
The largest increase was for Scotland which increased by 1.0
percentage point.
Meanwhile the largest decrease in employment was for the North East which decreased
by 1.1 percentage points. Again it is unclear whether this is the
start of a period of decreases, with the employment rate having
generally risen for the North East over the previous year.
Across the country the underlying picture appears to be quite flat
for most regions, with only the West Midlands and London having shown
any sustained pattern of increase in employment rates.
Employment rates remain higher in the South East and East of England,
both at 74.8%, and the South West at 74.5% than the rest of the UK.
Regional figures for the unemployment rate are quite volatile, which
needs to be allowed for when considering the pattern of change over
time.
“Once again Lancashire has been let down by this Tory-led Government,” commented Jennifer Mein, Lancashire Labour’s Group Leader. “David Cameron and George Osborne refuse to see that they’ve got it wrong on the economy – so 17,400 people in Lancashire have lost their jobs since they took office.
“This year alone, 7,000 people in Lancashire have lost their jobs. We need growth and jobs and that’s what Labour’s pushing for.
“Labour is calling for a compulsory jobs guarantee, so all people unemployed for more than two years, or for young people more than one, will get a job which they have to accept.
“Lancashire Labour has pledged to invest more in local apprenticeships to give young people the opportunities they’re currently being denied.”
• Get all the Labour Market Survey tables for this publication in the
data section of this publication
.