Number of York jobseekers falls by 20 compared to August

Preliminary statistics have shown a decrease in the amount of residents claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in September compared to the previous month’s figures (550) meaning there are 530 claimants in the city.

DIFF-HAPPY-JOBS-940Figures released by the Office of National Statistics show a 26.4 percent reduction over the past year in the number of people claiming jobseekers allowance in York.

In September 2015 there were 720 claimants.

However, the number of residents claiming Universal Credit rose from 638 in August to 648 in September. This is the second successive month when long term unemployed numbers in the City have increased.

However it comes at a time when some employers are saying that they are having difficulty filling vacancies. First York blamed the lack of drivers on recent service interruptions.

The Jobseekers Allowance claimant count for York represents 0.4 per cent of the working population and contrasts to the regional average which stands at 1.6 per cent. The figures are also much lower than the national average which stands at 1.3 per cent.

Latest unemployment figures for York

The latest unemployment figures have been published. They show the number claiming  job seekers allowance in York remains stable at 0.9% (1212 workers).

The number is slightly up compared to the December figure of 1,169, but this can be attributed to seasonal factors.

As it has been for the last 15 years, the York rate is below both the regional (2.8%) and national (2.1%) averages.

The latest employment figures (to September 2014) confirm that York has higher levels of employment than most other parts of the region.

Nationally the figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the rate of unemployment is now below 6 per cent and stands at 5.7 per cent.

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There are now 30.9m people in work.

The level of people in work is at a record of high of 73.2 per cent and average earnings including bonuses increased by 2.1 per cent in the quarter, compared with the previous year.  

Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“These record figures show that the number of people in work in Britain today is at an all-time high. This is an extraordinary achievement which the Liberal Democrats in government have helped to deliver. It shows we were right to resist Tory plans to cut workers’ basic rights in order to get firms hiring. Those calls were unjustified and would have been greatly damaging. 

“We have also cut long term unemployment by a quarter over the past year and those claiming unemployment benefits have fallen to their lowest levels since the financial crisis, creating a chance for everyone to get on in life.

“Many workers continue to see their weekly pay packet increase faster than inflation – meaning a real terms pay rise for millions of working families. We must now focus on seeing productivity rise, which means investing in long term skills to create a stronger economy through our industrial strategy.”