Job chances have fallen across most of the north despite record levels of employment in the UK

The likelihood of being in work has fallen in the North East, the North West, the West Midlands and the South West since mid-2010, despite the number of people in work increasing by over three-quarters of a million across the UK during this time, according to a new report published today (Monday) by the TUC.

The TUC report – which looks at regional labour markets over the last 20 years – shows that since the election there are 780,000 more people in work across the UK and the likelihood of having a job has also increased (up by one percentage point).

Despite this national increase, people’s chances of having a job have fallen in four English regions – the West Midlands (down 0.8 percentage points), the North West (down 0.7), the North East (down 0.6) and the South West (down 0.1).

Over the same period, employment rates have increased the most in Yorkshire and the Humber (up 2.4 percentage points) and the East Midlands (up 1.8).

The TUC report compares the most recent regional employment rates – July-September 2013 – with the same three-month period in 2010, 2008 and 1993. It finds that the South West has suffered the biggest fall from its pre-recession employment rate. There, people’s chances of being in employment fell by 2.1 percentage points between 2008 and 2013. In contrast, individual’s job prospects in London and the East of England have increased by 0.4 percentage points since 2008.

The report also takes a long-term look at the labour market and finds that the UK’s working age population has grown by nearly four million in the last twenty years. Given this ongoing increase, it’s hardly surprising that there are record levels of employment each month, says the TUC.

The report shows that the North East and London have performed best over the last twenty years, with employment rates increasing by over five percentage points since the 1990s, in spite of the recession. However, even between the London boroughs there are big local differences, with someone living in Wandsworth or Richmond twenty per cent more likely to be in work, compared to a resident of Newham or Barking and Dagenham.

The West Midlands has the poorest long-term jobs record, with the employment rates today barely any better than they were twenty years ago – when the UK was just coming out of recession.

The TUC wants the government to do more to ensure that job chances increase equally throughout England – rather than see job creation concentrated in London and the South East, with only a few pockets of growth in the North.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Britain’s growing population has meant record levels of employment for much of the last two decades. But despite the return of growth the chance of having a job has actually fallen in much of England since 2010.

“The City of London may have caused the crash but the capital’s job market has been the most resilient over the last five years. Instead, areas like the West Midlands have borne the brunt of recession, with people’s chances of being in work are barely any better today than they were after the last recession in the early 90s.

“Whilst it’s great that jobs are created being in London and the South East, stronger job creation is needed throughout the country. We need more well-paid jobs, as well as better wage rises for those already in work, if the UK’s 30 million strong workforce is to get a fair share of the benefits of recovery.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Changes in employment rates by English region since 1993

Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey

- The TUC report is available at www.tuc.org.uk/regionaljobs

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk