Unemployment edges down

Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count, unemployment fell by just 7,000 in the three months to July to 2.59 million compared with the previous three-month period. The drop was down to a 16,000 fall in women’s unemployment as male unemployment was up by 9,000.

The overall unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.1%, as was the male unemployment rate at 8.6%. However, the female rate was down to 7.4% from 7.6%. Youth unemployment remained above the one million mark. It stood at 1.02 million in the three-month period ending July — a 7,000 rise on the previous quarter.

The fall in the unemployment rate for 16- 24-year-olds to 21.6% from the previous figure of 21.7% provided small comfort.

The claimant count, which only includes people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, fell by 15,000 in August to 1.57 million on the previous month, mainly due to a fall in the number of male claimants. The overall jobless rate of claimants was down to 4.8%.

The male jobless rate was down to 5.9% from 6.0% but the female rate was unchanged at 3.5%.

A regional analysis of both the LFS and claimant count figures shows the North East to be the hardest hit. Under the LFS count, one in 10 or 134,000 were unemployed. The region’s claimants’ rate is 7.7%.