18 April 2007 - Murphy: claimant count down on the year
Jim Murphy, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, welcomed today's Labour Market figures – which show a further fall in the claimant count and a rise in the number of vacancies.
The latest figures show that:
- The number on Jobseeker's Allowance is down 28 thousand on the year, and down 9,200 in March to 910,800.
- The numbers on all of the main out of work benefits – JSA, Incapacity Benefits and lone parents benefits – are falling.
- Employment is up 147 thousand on the year but down in the last quarter.
- Vacancies are up over 45,800 on the year, and up 33,500 on the quarter.
- ILO unemployment rate is 5.5%, up on the year but the same as last quarter.
"The labour market picture is strong. Employment is up 147,000 on the year and the number of vacancies remains very high. The numbers on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Incapacity and Lone Parents benefits all continue to fall. Because of our reforms to the welfare state, more people on benefits have been looking for work and more people are taking up jobs.
“Our Welfare Reform Bill is now in the final stages of its progress through Parliament and it will make a real impact on people’s lives, helping those who have not been helped before to take up the vacancies which are out there, move off Incapacity Benefit and help support themselves and their families.”
Background to labour market statistics: April 2007
Employment is up 147 thousand on the year, though down by 47 thousand on the quarter. ILO unemployment is up 120 thousand on a year ago and up 21 thousand on the quarter. Economic inactivity is up 17 thousand on the year and 76 thousand on the quarter. The number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance is down 28 thousand over the year and fell 9.2 thousand in March to 910.8 thousand. The numbers on incapacity and lone parent benefits are falling.
This month’s Labour Force Survey covers December 2006 to February 2006. The claimant unemployment and vacancy count dates were 8th and 2nd March respectively.
The labour market is in a strong position
- 28.98 million people were in work in December to February, one of the highest figures on record.
- The employment rate is 74.3%, down on the quarter (0.2 points) and on the year (0.2 points). The overall 16+ employment rate, at 59.9%, remains close to its highest level since 1975.
- The inactivity rate is 21.2%, near its lowest since 1992.
- ILO unemployment is 5.5%. Vacancies remain high at 635 thousand and redundancies are low.
Employment is up on the year but fell this quarter
- Employment fell by 47 thousand on the quarter, but is up by 147 thousand on the year.
- ILO unemployment rose 21 thousand on the quarter and is up 120 thousand on a year ago. However, the unemployment rate appears to have flattened off around 5.5%. This is flat on the quarter and up over the year, but remains at levels not seen since the 1970s.
- Economic inactivity rose in the last quarter, by 76 thousand; the inactivity rate is up 0.2 percentage points on the quarter, and down 0.1 percentage points on a year ago.
The latest figures show the numbers on all the main out-of-work benefits are falling
- There were 910.8 thousand people on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in March 2007, down 9.2 thousand on the previous month, and down 28.0 thousand on a year ago.
- Separate figures published by DWP in February showed that the number of people claiming incapacity benefits fell 42 thousand in the year to August 2006, to 2.68 million; while the number on lone parent benefits fell 6 thousand to 783 thousand.
Vacancies remain high and redundancies are low
- Vacancies remain high. ONS’s vacancy survey estimates 635.5 thousand unfilled vacancies in the three months to March 2007, up 33.5 thousand on the previous quarter.
- More than 10,000 new vacancies are placed at Jobcentres every working day and at least as many again come up through other recruitment channels.
- Redundancies are close to record lows. There were 145 thousand redundancies this quarter, up 10 thousand on three months ago and up 3 thousand on this time last year.
Earnings growth in the year to February was 4.6%, up 0.4% points from January
- Excluding bonuses average earnings growth was 3.6%, unchanged from last month.
DWP Press Office:
Christian Cubitt: 0203 267 5129
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk