Unemployment in the North East has fallen to a new record low despite rising across the UK as a whole.
The rate of unemployment in the North East fell slightly to 3.5%, which is believed to be the lowest rate on record. That came as the national rate of joblessness rose unexpectedly to 4%, with the North East now having lower unemployment than six other regions of the UK, including London and the South East.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that, over the last year, the North East has seen the UK’s largest fall in both unemployment and economic inactivity. The number of people in work has risen by three percentage points, the highest increase in the country.
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The new figures will fuel the debate over the quality of some jobs in the region, with the big falls in unemployment coming at the same time as high rates of child poverty and a big increase in food bank usage. Earlier this month, the TUC released figures which showed that the North East has the lowest pay of any region in the country.
At a national level, average regular wages, not including bonuses, were 7.3% higher in the three months to May, the same as during the previous three months and the joint highest since records began in 2001. The ONS said that the real value of wages was still falling, however, due to high inflation.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Our jobs market is strong with unemployment low by historical standards. But we still have around one million job vacancies, pushing up inflation even further.
“Our labour market reforms – including expanding free childcare next year – will help to build the high-wage, high-growth, low-inflation economy we all want to see.”
