Rise in employment rate in Bassetlaw

The employment rate in Bassetlaw has increased over the past year, as the Government hails record highs across the UK.
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Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the number of people in either part-time or full-time employment in Bassetlaw rose to 80.2 per cent between April 2017 and March 2018.

This was an increase of 12 percentage points from the previous year, when the rate was at 68.2 per cent.

Unemployment is downUnemployment is down
Unemployment is down

It comes as the Government celebrated record high employment for the UK in the latest quarterly national figures, which cover the period from March to May.

These show employment across the country rising to 75.7 per cent, up by 0.8 percentage points from the same quarter a year ago.

Though local employment figures are released simultaneously with the national statistics, they only cover the 12 months to March.

In that 12 month period, national employment was 74.8 per cent, putting Bassetlaw 5.4 percentage points above the national average.

The working-age population is grouped into three categories by the ONS - employed, unemployed or economically inactive.

This third category includes people who are not looking for a job, such as students or people with an illness or disability.

Of the approximately 71,000-strong working age population - those aged between 16 and 64 - in Bassetlaw in 2017/18, 54,000 were employed.

The unemployment rate was 3.9 per cent - down from 4.9 per cent the previous year - while the number of economically inactive people was 19.1 per cent.

This was a decrease of 7.8 percentage points on the previous year.

However, the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits such as Job Seeker’s Allowance, which can include employed people if they are on a low income, also went up.

The proportion of claimants was 1.7 per cent in 2017/18, compared to 1.6 per cent in 2016-17.

Almost every region in the UK saw an increase in the number of claimants, despite high overall employment.

The East Midlands as a whole was the only region not to see its employment rate go up between 2016-17 and 2017-18, remaining steady at 74.7 per cent.

Esther McVey MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, said: “The employment rate is now at a record high of 75.7 per cent.

“With more than 3.3 million more people in work since 2010, this Government has seen on average 1,000 more people in work each and every day.

“Making sure our jobs market works for everyone is at the heart of this department’s work and the modern industrial strategy, and with more than 800,000 job vacancies we have a buoyant jobs market with plenty of opportunities available.”