North East Unemployment has stayed at the same level for four consecutive months, according to new-style data from the Office for National Statistics.
Business Live is reporting that the official statistics agency has a new method of recording regional unemployment which has put the North East joblessness figure at 4.2% for the last four months. The figure this month matches the national rate.
North East Unemployment Figures
The North East Chamber of Commerce – which supports the new method of calculating the region’s unemployment rate – said: “The ONS employment figures released today suggest a continuation of the tight recruitment conditions businesses across the North East are facing. This follows our latest quarterly economic survey results which show that fewer than half of organisations are working at full capacity, meaning gaps between the North East and the rest of the country remain.”
Nationally, UK wage growth has edged back from record highs but earnings are outstripping inflation at the fastest pace for two years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average regular earnings, excluding bonuses, increased by 7.7% in the three months to September, down from an upwardly revised and record high of 7.9% in the previous three months.
It added that Britain’s rate of unemployment is estimated to have remained unchanged at 4.2% in the third quarter but more cracks are appearing in the jobs sector, with vacancies falling to the lowest level for more than two years, down 58,000 quarter-on-quarter at 957,000.
Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Our labour market figures show a largely unchanged picture, with the proportions of people who are employed, unemployed or who are neither working nor looking for a job all little changed on the previous quarter. The number of job vacancies fell for the 16th straight month. Nevertheless, vacancies still remain well above their pre-pandemic levels.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “It’s heartening to see inflation falling and real wages growing, keeping more money in people’s pockets.”