More than 100,000 people in Nottinghamshire classed as 'economically inactive'
More than 100,000 working-age people in Nottinghamshire were classed as 'economically inactive' last year, new figures suggest.
It comes as the unemployment rate increased across the UK, showing great regional disparities.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 111,308 (22 per cent) of the 512,874 working-age people in Nottinghamshire were economically inactive in the year to June.
This was slightly lower than the average across the East Midlands where 22.2 per cent of those aged 16 to 64 were economically inactive, but above the UK rate which stood at 21.3 per cent.
Economically inactive people are those not in work, nor looking for work.
They include students, retirees and carers for example.
Across the UK the figure was down slightly from 21.6 per cent the previous year.
The ONS figures also show 15,700 (3.8 per cent) of economically active people in Nottinghamshire were unemployed in the year to June.
The unemployment rate in the UK increased from 3.7 per cent in 2024 to four per cent in the most recent year, and varied greatly across regions.
The highest unemployment rate stood at 5.5 per cent in London and the lowest at 1.9 per cent in Northern Ireland.
The ONS said the statistics should be treated with caution as it continues to overhaul its labour market survey.
Joseph Evans, research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: "It's a challenging market for jobseekers.
"Inactivity has dropped over the last year, meaning that more people are looking for work in a sign that the Government’s plan to 'Get Britain Working' is bearing fruit.
"But businesses are recruiting less as the economy continues to adjust post-pandemic, so competition for job listings is getting fiercer."
He added youth unemployment is increasing as ‘young people are finding it difficult to find work’, calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ‘to get growth firing and investment flowing to ensure that everyone has good opportunities at the start of their career’.
The ONS figures show 74.3 per cent of the working-age population in Nottinghamshire was in employment in the 12 months to June.
Across the UK the employment rate remained unchanged last year, at 75.4 per cent.
But the rate also varied greatly across regions: the highest employment rate was recorded at 78.8 per cent in the south west and the lowest at 70.3 per cent in the north east.
Charlie McCurdy, economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: "While employment gaps across the UK have shrunk over the past decade, some regional labour markets are performing better than others.
"Over the past year, the number of payrolled employees has fallen throughout Britain, with only Northern Ireland recording a rise in employment.
"This poor performance has been most stark in the capital and has contributed to London having a higher unemployment rate than any other region of the UK."
Pat McFadden MP (Lab), Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said there remains too many people locked out of employment or training and missing out on the security a good job provides.
"That's why we are reforming Jobcentres and investing in our Connect to Work programme to build a workforce fit for the future and boost economic growth in every corner of the UK as part of the Plan for Change.