18 March 2009 – McNulty: We will not give up on the unemployed
Help, support and advice will continue to be available for everyone who loses their job in the current global recession, pledged Employment Minister Tony McNulty today.
New figures out today from the UK Statistics Authority show another rise in unemployment as the scale of the redundancies made at the turn of the year starts to become evident.
Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform Tony McNulty said:
“These latest figures show the human impact of the global recession. No matter how hard times get, we will not give up on anyone who loses their job and will continue to provide real help to everyone who needs it.
“Even with the fall in labour demand that we are currently experiencing, we need to remember that three quarters of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance leave it within six months, and 250,000 people left the claimant count in February.
“We are investing £2bn to ensure Jobcentre Plus can continue to offer all its customers a first class service and next month people who have been claiming for six months will be able to access the enhanced package of support which we announced in January.”
Jobcentre Plus offers a range of early help to people who lose their jobs – such as CV writing, carrying out job searches and advice on claiming benefits. This includes people who have been in a stable job for many years, or those from professional or executive backgrounds who need help to start looking for a new job.
Jobcentre Plus can also help employers and employees through its Rapid Response Service, which offers immediate support early on – even before someone becomes redundant. One thousand employers have used this support since the service was expanded in November last year.
In early April the enhanced six month offer will be available to jobseekers. Employers will have access to up to £2500 of funding in both a wage subsidy and towards training and there will be more support for people who want to become self-employed, take part in a volunteering scheme or other training.
More support to help people with their mortgage payments became available in January for those who have been claiming Jobseekers Allowance for 13 weeks.
Even though volumes are rising, Jobcentre Plus is coping well with the increase in demand for its services. 6,000 more front line staff are being recruited and advisers are on top of their targets, conducting around 45,000 interviews and taking 60,000 phone calls every working day.
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Background to labour market statistics: March 2008
This month’s labour force survey covers November 2008 to January 2009. The claimant count and Jobcentre Plus vacancy count dates were 12th and 6th February respectively.
The number of people in work rose this quarter and remains historically high
- 29.4 million people were in work in November to January.
- employment rose by 2 thousand on the quarter but is down 75 thousand on the year
- the employment rate is 74.1%, down 0.1 percentage points on the quarter and down 0.7 percentage points on the year
The number of people claiming JSA has risen this month
- claimant unemployment was 1,391.1 thousand in February 2009, up 138.4 thousand on the month, and up 595.6 thousand on the year.
- the claimant unemployment rate, at 4.3%, is up 0.4 percentage points this month and up 1.8 percentage points on the year.
- in the year to August 2008, the number of people claiming incapacity benefits fell by 51 thousand, to 2.6 million and the number receiving lone parent benefits fell 19 thousand to 745 thousand.
ILO unemployment has risen this quarter
- 2.029 million people were ILO unemployed in November to January, up by 165 thousand on the quarter and 421 thousand on the year
- the ILO unemployment rate is 6.5%, up 0.5 percentage points on the quarter and up 1.3 percentage points on the year.
The level of economic inactivity is down on the quarter and down on the year.
- the economic inactivity level is 7.797 million, down 102 thousand on the quarter and down 78 thousand on the year.
- the economic inactivity rate is 20.6%, down 0.3 percentage point on the quarter and down 0.3 percentage points on the year.
- excluding students, inactivity as a proportion of the working age population is down 0.2 percentage points on the quarter and down 0.6 percentage points over the last year, at 15.2%.
The number of redundancies is increasing although there are still many vacancies available
- There were 266 thousand redundancies this quarter, up 86 thousand on the previous quarter and up 154 thousand on the previous year.
- ONS’s vacancy survey estimates an average of 482 thousand unfilled vacancies in the three months to February 2009, down 74 thousand on the quarter, and down 203 thousand on the year.
- In the last month Jobcentre Plus has taken on average around 10,000 new vacancies every working day and many more come up through other recruitment channels
Earnings growth in the year to October was 3.2%, unchanged from November
- excluding bonuses, average earnings growth was 3.5%, down 0.1 percentage point from the December figure.
Key out-of-work benefits: latest levels, in thousands 1
| Date | Jobseeker's Allowance (claimant count) 2 | Incapacity benefits 3 | Lone Parents on Income Support (IS) 3 | Other (IS others and Pension Credit) 4, 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May-97 | 1,619.6 | 2,616.3 | 1,014.2 | 256.2 |
| Aug-97 | 1,526.5 | 2,636.7 | 1,012.6 | 254.2 |
| Aug-98 | 1,340.7 | 2,631.8 | 955.7 | 231.6 |
| Aug-99 | 1,229.0 | 2,655.4 | 945.1 | 222.3 |
| Aug-00 | 1,060.4 | 2,714.9 | 920.1 | 198.0 |
| Aug-01 | 951.2 | 2,763.6 | 900.2 | 175.4 |
| Aug-02 | 945.7 | 2,769.4 | 875.0 | 167.2 |
| Aug-03 | 933.3 | 2,777.1 | 851.7 | 155.3 |
| Aug-04 | 834.5 | 2,774.9 | 818.1 | 158.2 |
| Aug-05 | 868.2 | 2,725.5 | 789.4 | 153.7 |
| Aug-06 | 952.6 | 2,683.0 | 783.2 | 153.1 |
| Aug-07 | 848.6 | 2,641.1 | 763.6 | 167.8 |
| Aug-08 | 908.1 | 2,590.6 | 744.7 | 176.2 |
| Latest 6 | 1,391.1 | 2,590.6 | 744.7 | 176.2 |
| Change Aug 1997 to August 2008 | -618.4 | -46.1 | -267.9 | -78 |
| Change on year to latest data | 595.6 | -50.5 | -18.9 | 8.4 |
- Between August 1997 and August 2008, the number of people claiming one of the main out-of-work benefits fell by 1,010,400. Since then there has been a rise in the number of JSA claimants, but it remains the case that the overall number of people on out of work benefits has fallen by half a million compared to 1997.
1. This table includes the main out-of-work client group categories, with the exception of carers who are not subject to activation policies in the same way as other groups.
2. UK figures (seasonally adjusted) published by ONS. This 100% series is the most reliable and up-to-date source for claimant unemployment. Latest figures are for January 2009.
3. GB figures (not seasonally adjusted). Published by DWP back to August 1999 as part of the 100% working age client group analysis. Earlier consistent figures have been created by combining information from the previously published 5% sample data with the WPLS data. A consistent series for the UK as a whole is not readily available.
4. GB figures (not seasonally adjusted). Published by DWP back to August 1999 as part of the 100% working age client group analysis. Before this point a 5% sample series is used, scaled to be consistent with the 100% data.
5. Excludes around 86,000 claimants in receipt of income support and carers allowance. This group has been stable over time and does not affect the estimated decrease in benefit claimants.
