Chamber warns of jobs gap growing
Date published:
Jonathan Walker, policy director, North East England Chamber of Commerce said: “Today’s statistics are a stark reminder that just as the impact of Covid was not felt evenly across the country, there is a real danger that economic recovery will follow suit. On the face of it, our labour market is in a much better place than this time last year. However, the gap between the North East and national unemployment rates continues to grow.
“Less than two weeks ago we saw the Government launch its ‘Levelling Up’ strategy, which was heavy with analysis but light on solutions and funding. Action is needed now to help businesses get back on their feet, tackle skills gaps and address the complex issues such as poor health that prevent too many people from being able to work in our region.
“Every time these gaps are allowed to grow is a missed opportunity that makes levelling up harder”.
Editor notes:
Employment in the North East stands at 1,186,000, a rise of 2,000 (0.1%) over the quarter but a fall of 14,000 (1.1%) over the year. The North East employment rate stands at 71%. This compares to a rate of 75.5% nationally.
North East unemployment stands at 70,000, an increase of 6,000 (9.3%) over the quarter but a fall of 11,000 (13.4%) over the year. The North East unemployment rate stands at 5.6%. This compares to a national rate of 4.1%.
The claimant count stands at 85,200 in the North East. This is a fall of 700 (0.9%) over the month and a fall of 32,700 over the year (27.7%). The claimant count rate for the North East is 5.9%.
The employment data covers the period October to December 2021. The provisional claimant count data is for January 2022.