Unemployment 12-year low, latest figures show
15th March 2017
Posted on March 15th, 2017
The number of people in work in the East Midlands region continues to rise, figures released this morning show.
And the number of people unemployed continues to fall.
The number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire rose in February compared with the previous month but continues to be lower than one and two years ago.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people in work across the region in the quarter from November 2016 to January 2017 was 2,287,879, up by 1,900 from the 2,285,979 recorded for the quarter from August to October 2016.
The number of people unemployed for the same periods were 102,898 and 112,129 respectively, a fall of 9,231.
Compared with the previous year, the number of people in work was up 28,291 from 2,259,588 and 47,662 higher than for two years ago.
Unemployment was 2,846 lower than the 105,744 recorded a year ago and 15,010 lower than the 117,908 of two years ago.
However, the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants across the three counties increased by 1,760 to 31,295 in February from 29,535 in January but that figure was still 1,860 lower than in February 2016 and 8,475 lower than the same month in 2015.
Scott Knowles, Chief Executive at the Chamber, said: “Government announced this morning that the unemployment rate nationally was the lowest for 12 years at 4.7%, which is very positive.
“An unemployment rate of 4.3% in the East Midlands – which is better than the national figure - is an indication of the robustness of the region.
“These figures back up the results of our own surveys or members, which show that recruitment remains strong and sales and orders – both at home and internationally – continue to grow.
“However, businesses also tell us they continue to struggle to recruit the right skills and, with the triggering of Article 50 looming, the imperative to ensure that we have a robust and transparent means of recruiting skilled people from overseas, alongside an education system that delivers the skills that UK plc needs, has never been stronger.”
