Claimants 29,199. Table 1 - Seasonally Adjusted Claimant Unemployment - July 2015

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1 August 2015 Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment including Universal Credit claimants Unemployment Briefing PLEASE NOTE: Since May 2015 there has been a phased introduction of Universal Credit (UC) in which has replaced a number of existing benefits, including (means tested) Job Seekers Allowance for new claimants. The headline measure of claimant unemployed for the city and at constituency level now includes out of work UC claimants, please see the Methodology Note on Page 7 for further detail. The latest seasonally adjusted claimant unemployment figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that seasonally adjusted claimant unemployment in fell in July Unemployment July 2015 s 29, % Table 1 - Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment - July 2015 Total Number United Kingdom 792, % West Midlands Region 78, % 29, % Seasonally adjusted clamant unemployment in the UK decreased by 4,897 in July. The count now stands at 792,418. The rate fell to 2.4%. In the West Midlands seasonally adjusted unemployment fell by 963 to 78,727 in July. The rate remained at 2.9%. In the seasonally adjusted claimant count decreased to 29,199 and the rate fell to 5.8%. Chart 1 illustrates that unemployment in has been declining significantly over the last two years. Chart 1: Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0% West Midlands UK 1

2 Unadjusted Unemployment including Universal Credit claimants The UK unadjusted Unemployment Count for July stands at 786,328. The unadjusted rate is 2.4%. In, the unadjusted count increased marginally by 51 to 29,120 (5.8%) in July. Significantly lower than in July 2014 (7.1%). The unadjusted count in the West Midlands region in July is 78,752. The unadjusted rate stands at 2.9%. 29, % West Mids 78, % UK 786, % Core Cities Table 2 shows that has a comparatively high claimant unemployment r a t e. A t 5. 8 %, s claimant unemployment rate is the highest of the core cities - significantly above the core city average of 4.3%. has the h i g h e s t c l a i m a n t proportion amongst the core cities. At 4.2%, s claimant proportion is significantly higher than the core city average of 3.1%. Table 2 Unadjusted Unemployed: Core Cities July 2015 Area JSA s Out of Work UC s Total Unemployed Number Proportion 27,228 1,892 29, % 5.8% Liverpool 8,300 3,893 12, % 5.5% Glasgow 14, , % 5.3% Nottingham 7, , % 5.0% Manchester 7,209 3,039 10, % 4.0% Cardiff 6, , % 3.6% Sheffield 9, , % 3.4% Newcastle 4, , % 3.4% Leeds 12, , % 3.3% Bristol 5, , % 2.3% Core Cities 103,383 10, , % 4.3% West Midlands 74,929 3,823 78, % 2.9% GBS LEP Area 33,016 2,306 35, % 3.8% Greater London 109,912 2, , % 2.5% United Kingdom 723,980 62, , % 2.4% proportion: claimants divided by working age population rate: claimants divided by economically active working age residents. 5.8% Core Cities 4.3% GBSLEP 3.8% 2

3 Unadjusted Unemployment including Universal Credit claimants Constituencies There are 10 constituencies in - each containing 4 wards. Table 3 shows claimant unemployment data relating to the constituencies. 1 The inner-city constituency of Ladywood has the highest claimant unemployment rate (13.7%). The Sutton Coldfield constituency has the lowest unemployment rate (1.0%). Table 3 Unadjusted Unemployment by Constituency - July 2015 Constituency JSA s Out of Work UC s Number Total Unemployed Proportion Edgbaston 2, , % 3.9% Erdington 2, , % 5.1% Hall Green 2, , % 7.5% Hodge Hill 3, , % 8.8% Ladywood 5, , % 13.7% Northfield 2, , % 3.9% Perry Barr 3, , % 6.9% Selly Oak 1, , % 4.8% Sutton Coldfield % 1.0% Yardley 2, , % 5.2% 27,228 1,892 29, % 5.8% 16% Chart 2: Constituency Unemployment 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 3

4 Employment The latest Labour Force Survey figures for the West Midlands region for the three month period April to June 2015 show that the number of working age people employed has decreased by 16,000 compared with the previous quarter. The latest employment data for (March 2015) shows working age employment levels decreasing by 2,300 in the last quarter to stand at 431,300. Chart 3 shows the proportion of the working age population in employment since The employment rate fell slightly regionally but rose marginally at a national level last quarter. Locally the employment rate decreased slightly in the 12 months to March The overall trend has been upwards for all three areas since mid Chart 3: Employment s West Midlands UK Skill Levels On the supply side comparatively high unemployment and low employment rates in the city are linked to the skills gap that exists locally with residents having lower skill and qualification levels than the national average. The chart below highlights this showing how (15.7%) has a greater proportion of working age residents with no qualifications compared to the UK (9.0%) and the Core city average (12.2%). The city (46.2%) also has a correspondingly lower proportion of residents with NVQ3+ qualifications than the UK (56.5%). Chart 4: Qualification Levels % 50% 46.2% 49.4% 50.1% 54.3% 56.5% 40% 30% 20% 10% 15.7% 13.6% 13.2% 12.2% 9.0% 0% NVQ3+ No Quals 4 GBSLEP West Midlands Core Cities UK

5 JSA Count From May 2015 Universal Credit will replace a number of existing benefits - including Job Seekers Allowance - for new claimants. Currently DWP are NOT releasing statistics on Universal Credit claimants at ward or SOA level. The local data presented in this section and any city comparison therefore is based on JSA claimants only. As this data does not include new claimants from May 2015 onwards it will increasingly be an under representation of claimant unemployment at ward level. Wards Map 1 displays estimates of JSA claimants in by Super Output Area (SOA). It shows that the highest levels of unemployment are largely concentrated in the inner-city areas of. Table 4, in the data appendix (page 6), shows JSA claimant data for the wards. The ward JSA rates vary widely with the 4 Sutton wards having the lowest rates and Aston (13.9%) and Lozells & East Handsworth (13.7%) the highest JSA rates. The number of long-term (12 months or more) JSA claimants in each ward is also shown in Table 4. Lozells & East Handsworth ward (680) has the highest number and Sutton Four Oaks (30) the lowest. Table 4 also shows the number of youth (18-24) JSA claimants in each ward. Aston ward (310) has the highest number of youth JSA claimants in. Sutton New Hall (15) has the fewest. The number of long-term (12 months or more) JSA claimants in fell last month by 210, there are 10,885 long term claimants in the city. The number of youth (18-24) JSA claimants in decreased by 225 to stand at 5,075 in July

6 Data Appendix Unemployment Briefing August 2015 Table 4 JSA s by Ward July 2015 Ward Male Female Total JSA s Number Number Number Long Term (+12 months) JSA s Youth (18-24) JSA s Acocks Green % Aston 1, , % Bartley Green % Billesley % Bordesley Green % Bournville % Brandwood % Edgbaston % Erdington % Hall Green % Handsworth Wood % Harborne % Hodge Hill % King's Norton % Kingstanding % Ladywood , % Longbridge % Lozells & East Handsworth 1, , % Moseley & Kings Heath % Nechells , % Northfield % Oscott % Perry Barr % Quinton % Selly Oak % Shard End % Sheldon % Soho , % South Yardley % Sparkbrook , % Springfield % Stechford & Yardley North % Stockland Green % Sutton Four Oaks % Sutton New Hall % Sutton Trinity % Sutton Vesey % Tyburn % Washwood Heath , % Weoley % ,587 9,641 27, % 10,885 5,075 6

7 Universal Credit Methodology Notes From May 2015 onwards there will be a phased introduction of Universal Credit (UC) in which will replace a number existing benefits including (means tested) Job Seekers Allowance for new claimants. The Pathfinder for UC started on 29 April 2013 and the programme is being gradually rolled out across the country. In response to the growing number of areas introducing UC the ONS have announced a change to the definition of the measurement of the Count. From May 2015 the ONS headline measure of the Count will be changed to include out of work claimants of Universal Credit. PLEASE NOTE: The experimental measure is still being developed by DWP and it currently includes all out of work UC claimants including those who are not required to look for work (who should ideally be excluded from the Count). DWP and ONS are working to improve the availability and suitability of the new measure of Count unemployed but during the transition period there are some issues to consider: I. The new measure will include some inactive UC claimant who should not really be classified as unemployed thus artificially boosting the Count numbers. II. Some areas with which we compare the city are not yet taking part in the roll out so comparisons need to be considered in light of this. III. UC data is not available below constituency level so all ward and SOA data presented is for JSA s only and will increasingly be an under representation of claimant unemployed. More details can be found at: Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment The seasonally adjusted unemployment count and rate is our headline measure of unemployment. Seasonally adjusted data removes the changes in the series that are merely due to seasonal factors. such as the dip in unemployment caused by seasonal employment over the Christmas period. It therefore gives a more accurate picture of real trends and movements in unemployment. Unemployment s and Proportions count unemployment can be expressed as a rate or a proportion. Unemployment The claimant unemployment rate is the number of claimant count unemployed as a percentage of the economically active 16 + population. The unemployment rate is the most robust measure of unemployment and allows to be compared with national claimant rates published by the ONS. Proportion The claimant proportion is simply the proportion of the year old population who are claimant unemployed. This includes those who are economically active and those who are economically inactive and who are not engaged in the labour market. The claimant proportion is therefore always smaller than the claimant unemployment rate due to having a larger denominator. Denominators The denominators are based on the latest available data. Unemployment rates in tables 1, 2 and 3 are derived using the economically active 16+ population from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Only calendar year APS periods (Jan-Dec) are used. APS data is not available at ward level so ward unemployment rates are calculated using the economically active 16+ population from the 2011 Census. For the claimant proportion the total year old population is used, derived from the latest ONS Mid Year Population Estimates. Note: 2014 APS data was released In April the change over to new denominators will effect unemployment rates meaning rates calculated previously with 2013 APS data will not be comparable. Economic Research and Policy City Council Ground Floor, Baskerville House, Centenary Square, Broad Street B1 2ND Follow us on Phone: Economy@birmingham.gov.uk 7