- The number of JSA jobless in West Lothian for May is 4,542. This is an increase of 12 on the April 2009 figure, and is the highest total for West Lothian since September 1996.
- West Lothian's unemployment rate of 4.3% is higher than both the Scottish (3.9%) and Great Britain (4.1%) rates, and is higher than at any time since February 1997. West Lothian's unemployment rate is the same as South Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire.
- There were 805 notified Jobcentre vacancies in May - a net increase from April 2009 of 19 vacancies.
- Similar to last month, there are approximately 6 jobseekers for every vacancy advertised in West Lothian jobcentres. In comparison, Scotland's ratio is 5.3:1, Great Britain is 5.5:1 with Inverclyde having the highest ratio of 11.6:1 (12 jobseekers for every vacancy) of claimants to vacancies of Scottish local authorities (see attached excel sheet).
JSA based unemployment figures do not provide the full picture. However, the headline JSA figure does help to indicate the latest trend or change at a national or local level and whether the economic down turn is beginning to bite. The Government's favoured method of measuring unemployment - the ILO method does not readily translate into up-to-date local area estimates.
The Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is payable to people under pensionable age who are available for, and actively seeking, work.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment