Chamber says North East unemployment staying stubbornly high

Author - Kay Wilson

Date published:

Arlen Pettitt, knowledge development manager, North East England Chamber of Commerce said:

“Today’s figures paint the picture of a regional economy trying its best to grow in really difficult circumstances. There are some encouraging signs, including an increase in the number of people in employment and a fall in economic inactivity, but our unemployment rate remains stubbornly and significantly higher than the national average.

“Our members are telling us of staff shortages in key industries, especially for roles requiring specialist skills like developers and motor industry technicians. These shortages limit growth and push up costs – just as individuals are struggling with the cost of living, so are businesses struggling with the cost of doing business as inflation hits energy prices and raw materials.

“With the Chancellor’s Spring Statement a little over a week away, we need to see immediate action from him to ease these pressures, alongside efforts across government to turn levelling up into a reality.”

Chamber member, Steve Shaw of motor industry specialists Ingenia Recruitment of Washington, which covers the whole North East said:

“The motor industry is experiencing a crippling skills shortage that’s costing tens of thousands per business. 

“Local skills shortages are compounded by how difficult it is in the current migration system for dealers to bring in specialists like technicians, panel beaters and mechanics from overseas. We need to improve the local skills pipelines into these key regional sectors and adjust the migration system to keep up with the immediate shortages that are holding businesses back.”

Figures from the Institute of the Motor Industry show that in Feb 2022, there were 23,000 vacancies listed, the highest in 20 years. Steve Shaw added: “Our own findings show vacancies up 117% from 2020 – 2021 and Year to Date (1st Jan – 28th Feb 2022), vacancies are up 150%.”

Editor notes:

Employment in the North East stands at 1,189,000, a rise of 7,000 (0.6%) over the quarter but a fall of 13,000 (1.1%) over the year. The North East employment rate stands at 70.9%. This compares to a rate of 75.6% nationally.

North East unemployment stands at 69,000, an increase of 2,700 (4.1%) over the quarter but a fall of 10,000 (12.8%) over the year. The North East unemployment rate stands at 5.5%. This compares to a national rate of 3.9%.

The claimant count stands at 81,900 in the North East. This is a fall of 1,800 (2.2%) over the month and a fall of 37,500 over the year (31.4%). The claimant count rate for the North East is 5.7%.

The employment data covers the period November 2021 to January 2022. The provisional claimant count data is for February 2022.

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