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People Claiming Unemployment Benefits by Constituency

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People Claiming Unemployment Benefits by Constituency By Brigid Francis-Devine, Andrew Powell, People claiming unemployment Harriet Clark 14 September 2021 benefits by constituency Summary 1 National employment and unemployment data 2 Impact of Universal Credit and seasonality 3 Claimant levels and rates by constituency 4 Information about sources, methods and copyright commonslibrary.parliament.uk Number 8748 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency Disclaimer The Commons Library does not intend the information in our research publications and briefings to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. We have published it to support the work of MPs. You should not rely upon it as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. We do not accept any liability whatsoever for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein. You should consult a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information. Read our briefing ‘Legal help: where to go and how to pay’ for further information about sources of legal advice and help. This information is provided subject to the conditions of the Open Parliament Licence. Feedback Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in these publicly available briefings is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware however that briefings are not necessarily updated to reflect subsequent changes. If you have any comments on our briefings please email [email protected]. Please note that authors are not always able to engage in discussions with members of the public who express opinions about the content of our research, although we will carefully consider and correct any factual errors. You can read our feedback and complaints policy and our editorial policy at commonslibrary.parliament.uk. If you have general questions about the work of the House of Commons email [email protected]. 2 Commons Library Research Briefing, 14 September 2021 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency Contents Summary 4 1 National employment and unemployment data 6 1.1 Unemployment 6 1.2 Employment 7 1.3 Other indicators 9 1.4 Inactivity 9 1.5 Earnings 9 2 Impact of Universal Credit and seasonality 11 2.1 Unemployment and the claimant count 11 2.2 Latest claimant count figures 11 2.3 Introduction of Universal Credit 13 2.4 Adjusting for Universal Credit effects: an alternative claimant count series 13 3 Claimant levels and rates by constituency 19 4 Information about sources, methods and copyright 37 4.1 Sources and copyright 37 4.2 Treatment of Universal Credit 38 4.3 Claimant rate methodology 40 4.4 Notes and abbreviations 40 3 Commons Library Research Briefing, 14 September 2021 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency Summary This paper provides figures for the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits by parliamentary constituency, as well as a summary of the latest labour market statistics for the UK as a whole. In May-July 2021, the labour market continued its recovery. There was an increase in employment and a fall in unemployment from the previous quarter, along with a fall in redundancies and an increase in hours worked. Average pay continued to grow at a faster rate than inflation. Young people have been particularly impacted by the pandemic, but over the last quarter 16-24 year olds have seen a strong increase in the employment rate and decrease in unemployment and inactivity rates. Vacancies in June-August 2021 were at their highest level since records began. Key figures • In May-July 2021, the number of people aged 16+ in employment was 32.36 million, 183,000 more than the previous quarter but 202,000 fewer than the previous year. The employment rate was 75.2%, up from 74.7% in the previous quarter. • The UK unemployment rate was 4.6%, down from 4.8% in the previous quarter. Unemployment levels fell by 86,000 on the quarter to 1.55 million. • 8.71 million people aged 16-64 were economically inactive, down 121,000 from the previous quarter. The inactivity rate was 21.1%, down from 21.4% in the previous quarter. • Redundancies fell slightly from the previous quarter to 94,000. • Vacancies increased by 269,000 from the previous quarter to 1.03 million in June-August 2021. • Average wages increased in real terms in the three months to July 2021, with an annual change of 5.9% including bonuses and 4.5% excluding bonuses. Coronavirus For further analysis of the effect of coronavirus on the labour market, see the Library briefing Coronavirus: Impact on the labour market. 4 Commons Library Research Briefing, 14 September 2021 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency This includes a breakdown of furloughed workers by sector, region and constituency, as well as data on workers most impacted by the coronavirus, such as workers from minority ethnic group, women, part-time workers, and young workers. Unadjusted claimant count and alternative claimant count Unless otherwise stated, the claimant count figures provided in this paper are for the unadjusted claimant count. Figures for the alternative claimant count can be found in the accompanying excel file. Figures for the unadjusted count are published every month, data for August 2021 were published on 14 September 2021. Figures for the alternative count series are published each quarter and were last published in July. They are next scheduled to be published in October 2021. The data table starting on page 16 shows figures for the unadjusted claimant count. Further information about the claimant count is provided in section 2 of this paper. 5 Commons Library Research Briefing, 14 September 2021 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency 1 National employment and unemployment data 1.1 Unemployment ILO unemployment was 1.55 million in May-July 2021. This was 86,000 less than the previous quarter, but 81,000 more than the year before. 1 The unemployment rate was 4.6% (the percentage of the economically The unemployment active population who are unemployed). This is down from 4.8% in the rate was 4.6%, up previous quarter and from 4.3% a year before. The rate reached a post- from 4.3% the recession high of 8.5% in late 2011. previous year. Chart 1 Unemployment has been decreasing since the end of 2020 Millions of people unemployed, UK, seasonally adjusted 3.0 All people looking and 2.5 available for work (ILO 2.0 definition) 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 Source: ONS, A01: Summary of labour market statistics, 14 September 2021 525,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed, down slightly from the previous quarter and down 47,000 from the year before. The unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds was 12.9%, down from 13.8% a year before. Looking across countries and regions of the UK in May-July 2021, the unemployment rate was highest in London (6.0%) and lowest in the South West (3.3%). Note that smaller survey samples make regional estimates more volatile than estimates for the UK as a whole. 1 1 The International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of unemployment includes everyone looking for and available for work whether or not they are claiming benefits and is measured using surveys. 6 Commons Library Research Briefing, 14 September 2021 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency 1.2 Employment The employment rate (the proportion of the population aged 16-64 in work) was 75.2% in May-July 2021, up from 74.7% in the previous quarter and down from 75.6% a year previously. It compares to a post-recession low of 70.1% in July-September 2011. 32.36 million people were in employment, up by 183,000 from the previous Workers who have quarter but down 202,000 from the year before. been furloughed are included in This will include those people who were temporarily away from work, employment figures. including those who were furloughed. 1.6 million jobs were on furlough as at 31 July 2021. 2 A breakdown of furloughed workers by sector, and area is available in the Library briefing Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: statistics. 1.6 million jobs were 15.45 million women were in work, up 48,000 from the previous quarter but furloughed as at the down 14,000 from a year ago. The female employment rate was 72.0%. Increases in the rate over recent years are partly due to changes to the State 31 July 2021. Pension age for women. 16.91 million men were in work, 134,000 more than the previous quarter but 187,000 less than a year ago. The male employment rate was 78.5%. Chart 2 Part-time workers and men are driving the decrease in employment levels over the last year Annual change in employment to May-July 2021, thousands 600 400 Part time Full time 200 +373 +221 0 -153 -422 -388 -200 -35 -400 -600 All people Men Women Source: ONS, EMP01 SA: Full-time, part-time and temporary workers, 14 September 2021 The decrease in employment levels over the year have been driven by part- time employees and the self-employed. The increases over the last quarter have been driven by full-time female employees and part-time male employees. 2 HMRC, coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics, Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 7 Commons Library Research Briefing, 14 September 2021 People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency The total number of people working full-time in May-July 2021 was 24.53 million, an increase of 82,000 from the previous quarter and an increase of 221,000 from the year before. The yearly increase is completely driven by women working full-time: the number of men working full time decreased by 153,000 while the number of women working full-time increased by 373,000.
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