No surprises in today’s employment figures
13th December 2017
Posted on December 13th, 2017
Unemployment in the East Midlands rose slightly in the three months up to the end of October but is still lower than a year and two years ago according to statistics released this morning.
The quarterly figures issued by the Office for National Statistics show that there were 7,046 more people out of work at the end of October than there were at the end of July.
But there were 12,381 fewer people out of work than in the same period last year and 741 fewer than in 2015.
The unemployment rate in the East Midlands was 4.19%.
Releasing the figures, the Minister for Employment, Damian Hinds, said “We’re ending the year on a strong note with figures showing the unemployment rate has fallen every month in 2017, and is now at the lowest it’s been in over 40 years.
“Employment is at a near-record high, and there are over three million more people in work now compared to 2010.
Nationally, employment remains at “a near record high” according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Other figures released today by the ONS show that the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire was 300 lower in November (31,500) than in October (31,800) this year, but 2,550 higher than November 2016 and 1,415 higher than in November 2015.
Chris Hobson, Director of Policy at the Chamber, said: “There are no real surprises in the figures released today.
“We’ve known for some time that businesses were going to feel inflationary pressures and, when combined with the doubt and uncertainty over Brexit, would be less confident about recruitment.”
