CLAIMANT UNEMPLOYMENT Between May 1997 and the latest available data for December 2009, the number of people of working age claiming Job Seekers Allowance in the UK fell from 1.62m or 4.5% of the population of working age to 1.57m (4.1%) having reached a low of just over 800,000 (2.2%) in November 2004 (Table 1). Over the period May 1997 to December 2009 the North East has consistently been one of the worst performing regions in terms of unemployment (alongside London and the West Midlands), consistently exhibiting the highest rate of unemployment in the UK between October 1997 and April 2003. From a low of 46,734 or 2.9% in December 2007, unemployment has risen steadily in the North East to stand at 85,625 or 5.4% in December 2009 the highest rate of all the regions of the UK and significantly higher than the UK average of 4.1%. The West Midlands follow at 5.3% and Yorkshire and the Humber at 4.8%. Figures 1 highlights the performance of a selection of comparators areas to the North East with Figure 2 focusing on the four worst performing regions in the UK in terms of claimant unemployment. Figure 1: Claimant Count Rate May 1997 December 2009 (comparator areas) 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 Claimant rate 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 May 1997 May 1998 May 1999 May 2000 May 2001 May 2002 May 2003 May 2004 May 2005 May 2006 May 2007 May 2008 May 2009 Date UK rate North East rate South East rate Wales rate Yorkshire and The Humber rate Greater Merseyside rate North East Economic Analysis 1997 2009
Table 1: Claimant Count Unemployment May 1997 December 2009 May 1997 December 2009 Change No. Rate No. Rate No. Rate Merseyside 62,369-51,295-11,074 - North East 94,446 6.1 85,625 5.4 8,821 0.7 Wales 80,322 4.7 78,084 4.3 2,238 0.4 UK 1,620,496 4.5 1,567,005 4.1 53,491 0.4 Y&H 152,032 5.1 155,793 4.8-3,761 0.3 South East 138,110 2.9 152,629 3.0-14,519-0.1 Figure 2: Claimant Count Rate May 1997 December 2009 (worst performing regions) 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 % 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 May 1997 May 1998 May 1999 May 2000 May 2001 May 2002 May 2003 May 2004 May 2005 May 2006 May 2007 May 2008 May 2009 Dec 2009 North East West Midlands London Scotland Figure 3 below highlights the current performance in terms of the unemployment rate of each UK region relative to the change in the unemployment rate between May 1997 and December 2009. The analysis reveals that the North East is one of only five regions to have seen unemployment fall more than the UK average over the period although the region still highest rate of unemployment at 5.4%. North East Economic Analysis 1997-2009 2
Figure 3: Change in Unemployment Rate May 1997 December 2009 vs. Unemployment Rate December 2009 UK Regions 1.0 WM 0.0 SE EM E NW YH 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 UK W 4.5 5.0 5.5 NE SW -1.0 SC Change in rate NI -2.0 L -3.0 Unemployment Rate % North East Economic Analysis 1997 2009 3
Figure 4: Claimant Unemployment North East Selected Districts, May 1997 December 2009 7.5 6.5 unemployment rate % 5.5 4.5 3.5 2.5 1.5 May-97 May-98 May-99 May-00 May-01 May-02 May-03 May-04 May-05 May-06 May-07 May-08 May-09 County Durham Gateshead Newcastle North Tyneside Northumberland South Tyneside Sunderland Figure 4 shows that between May 1997-2008 claimant unemployment generally fell across all districts of the North East. From May 2008, claimant levels increased significantly across all regions as the effects of the economic downturn took hold. County Durham experienced the most marked increase in claimant unemployment between May 2008 and the latest figures for December 2009 with a 105% increase in the number of people of working age claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) with the unemployment rate more than doubling to 4.5% from 2.2%. The next highest increases in unemployment in the 19 months to December 2009 were found in Gateshead and Sunderland with increases in the claimant count level of 77.6 and 75.6% respectively. Throughout the period South Tyneside had the highest claimant rate in the North East at any given period and remains an unemployment hotspot despite numerous initiatives and millions of pounds of investment in the last 12 years from several rounds of the Single Regeneration Budget to the more recent introduction of Working Neighbourhood Funding. North East Economic Analysis 1997 2009 4
Figure 5 highlights the current performance in terms of the unemployment rate of North East districts and unitary authority areas relative to the change in the unemployment rate between May 1997 and December 2009. The analysis reveals that Newcastle enjoyed the greatest reduction in the unemployment rate over the period (-2.2%) one of four districts to have outperformed the regional average in this regard alongside North Tyneside, Stockton and South Tyneside. The highest rates of unemployment within the region are in Middlesbrough (7.7%) and Hartlepool (7.3%) respectively both of which underperformed the region in terms of the fall in unemployment over the period. Within Tyne & Wear, South Tyneside continues to exhibit high and persistent rates of unemployment despite benefiting from a higher than average reduction in the unemployment rate over the 12 year period. North East Economic Analysis 1997-2009 5
Figure 5: Change in Unemployment Rate May 1997 December 2009 vs. Unemployment Rate December 2009 North East 0.0 C Durham -0.5-1.0-1.5-2.0 Gateshead Darlington N'land Sunderland M'brough Redcar & Cleveland Hartlepool NE 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 S Tyneside Stockton N Tyneside Change in Unemployment Rate May 1997 - Nov 2009 Newcastle -2.5 Unemployment Rate Nov 2009 North East Economic Analysis 1997 2009 6
North East Economic Analysis 1997-2009 7