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BRIEFING PAPER

Number 7950, 9 March 2020

Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

By Andrew Powell

Contents: 1. Employment 2. Unemployment 3. Types of employment 4. Average Earnings 5. Notes on sources 6. Annex tables

2 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

Contents Summary 3

1. Employment 5 1.1 Employment by gender 5 1.2 Employment over time 6

2. Unemployment 9 2.1 Unemployment by gender 9 2.2 Unemployment over time 10

3. Types of employment 12 3.1 Full-time and Part-time 12

Part-time work by gender 12 3.2 Self-employment 13

Self-employment by gender 14

4. Average Earnings 15 4.1 Average earnings over time 15 4.2 Average weekly earnings by gender 16

How has pay for women and men changed over time? 17

5. Notes on sources 19

6. Annex tables 20

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3 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

Summary This paper gives an overview of labour market statistics across the UK’s regions and countries. The spreadsheet published alongside this paper includes a ‘profile tool’ where you can select a region and generate a full summary of its labour market statistics.

The table below shows the latest key labour market statistics for each of the UK’s regions and countries.1

Employment

Between October 2018 and September 2019 the employment rate was highest in the South East (79.3%) and lowest in the North East (71.2%).

Employment rates across the UK fell following the 2008 recession, but since 2011/12, employment rates across all regions and countries have been increasing. Employment rates are currently higher than their pre-recession levels in all UK regions and countries.

Unemployment

The unemployment rate was highest in the North East (5.7%) and lowest in the East of England and Northern Ireland (3.0%).

Unemployment rates across the UK rose following the recession, but since 2011/12, unemployment rates across all regions and countries have been falling. The unemployment rate is now less than pre-recession levels in all UK regions and countries.

Part-time employment

Part-time working was most prevalent in the South West where 30.4% of those in employment were working part-time. Part-time working was least prevalent in London where 21.6% of those in employment were working part-time.

1 Data is taken from ONS, Annual Population Survey: Regional labour market statistics in the UK: July 2018

Employment rate

Unemployment rate

% working part-time

% working self-employed

South East 79.3 3.1 28.2 16.4South West 79.2 3.3 30.4 17.4East 78.1 3.0 26.4 15.9

East Midlands 76.0 4.2 26.7 13.6Scotland 74.8 3.9 26.5 12.4London 74.4 4.6 21.6 18.5

North West 74.3 3.9 25.0 13.7Yorks and Humber 73.8 4.3 26.9 13.2West Midlands 73.8 4.5 24.5 14.0

Wales 73.5 4.1 27.5 14.3Northern Ireland 71.3 3.0 25.0 15.5North East 71.2 5.7 26.8 12.7

UK 75.6 3.9 26.1 15.2Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

Key Labour Market StatisticsOctober 2018-September 2019

4 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

Self-employment

Self-employment was most prevalent in London where 18.5% of those in employment were self-employed. Self-employment was least prevalent in Scotland where 12.4% of workers were self-employed.

Average weekly earnings

The latest statistics from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings show that in April 2019 average weekly earnings were highest for full-time employees living in London (£699) and lowest in the North East (£531).

Average weekly earnings for full-time employees are, after adjusting for changes in prices, below their pre-recession levels in every region and country in the UK except Northern Ireland and Wales.

Section 5 includes notes on the sources of the statistics in this paper and key definitions of the terms used.

5 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

1. Employment 75.6% of 16-64 year olds were in employment in the UK between October 2018 and September 2019, but the employment rate varied widely across the UK regions and countries: 2 3

• The highest employment rate was in the South East where 79.3% of 16-64 year olds were in employment.

• The lowest rate was in the North East at 71.2%.

How have the employment rates of the UK regions and countries compared over the last 13 years?

The southern English regions (South East, South West and East) have consistently had the highest employment rates of the UK regions and countries since the current series began in 2004. The employment rate has been highest in the South East for 11 of the last 15 years. Similarly the regions with the lowest employment rates have been fairly consistent. In almost every year since the 2008 recession, the regions with the lowest employment rates have been the North East and Northern Ireland, and in recent years the gap between these regions and the other regions has been getting larger.

1.1 Employment by gender In all UK regions and countries, men had higher employment rates than women. This is largely because women are more likely to be economically inactive (not in work and not seeking work).

Between October 2018 and September 2019, the highest employment rates for both men and women were found in the southern English regions. The South West had the highest employment rate for women (76.5%), while the South East had the highest rate for men (83.0%).

2 ONS, Annual Population Survey: Regional labour market statistics in the UK: October

2019 3 Figures throughout this paper are for July to June unless otherwise indicated

79.3

79.2

78.1

76.0

75.6

74.8

74.4

74.3

73.8

73.8

73.5

71.3

71.2

South EastSouth West

EastEast Midlands

UKScotlandLondon

North WestYorks and…

West MidlandsWales

Northern IrelandNorth East

Employment rate (%)October 2018-September 2019

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

The employment rate is the percentage of those aged 16-64 who are in employment Definitions of labour market concepts can be found in Section 5.

6 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

Northern Ireland had the lowest employment rate for women (67.4%), while the North East had the lowest rate for men (73.9%).

Across the UK as a whole the employment rate for women was 71.4% and for men it was 79.8%.

London had the biggest difference between the employment rates for men and women; the rate for men was 11.8 percentage points higher than the rate for women. The difference was smallest in the North East where the employment rate for men was 5.2 percentage points higher than the rate for women.

1.2 Employment over time Changes in the last year

Between 2017/18 and 2018/19 the UK employment rate grew by 0.6 percentage points. The employment rate increased in all regions and countries of the UK, except London which remained at the same level.

The employment rate increased the most in Northern Ireland where it increased by 1.5 percentage points, followed by the South East (1.3 percentage points) and the East Midlands (1.2 percentage points). The increase in Northern Ireland was 0.9 percentage points higher than the national average.

In six regions the employment rate grew by less than 0.5 percentage points (London, East, West Midlands, North East, Scotland and Yorkshire and Humber).

Small changes in the employment rate (or lack thereof) could be down to survey error rather than actual changes.

Recent trend

All UK regions and countries saw their employment rates fall in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008/09. The rate for the

North East 73.9 68.7Northern Ireland 75.4 67.4Wales 77.1 70.0Scotland 78.1 71.6Yorks and Humber 78.5 69.3North West 78.5 70.2West Midlands 78.7 68.8East Midlands 80.0 72.1London 80.3 68.5South West 82.0 76.5East 82.8 73.5South East 83.0 75.6UK 79.8 71.4Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

Men Women

Employment rate (%) by genderOctober 2018-September 2019

For detailed statistics on regions and countries’ employment rates since 2004/05 use the profile tool in the accompanying spreadsheet

7 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

UK fell by 2.2 percentage points between 2007/08 and 2011/12, with the largest falls in Scotland (3.6 percentage points) and the North East (3.2 percentage points).

Since 2011/12, the employment rates for the UK and all its regions and countries have increased and they have now surpassed their pre-recession levels.

London has had the largest increase from their pre-recession levels. London’s employment rate was 5.3 percentage points higher in 2018/19 than it was in 2007/08.

Scotland had the lowest increase at 0.5 percentage points. All other regions had an increase of at least 2 percentage points.

Longer term trend

Employment rates in UK regions and countries back to 2007 for UK countries are shown in the chart below.4

4 ONS, Regional labour market statistics in the UK: April 2017

0

2

4

6

Employment rate change, % pts2007/08- 2018/19

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

60

65

70

75

80

2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

England

Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Employment rates in the UK countries (%)

Source: ONS,Labour Force Survey, LF3Y, LF3Z, LF42, LF5Z

8 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

Of the UK countries, the employment rate has consistently been lowest in Northern Ireland.

The employment rate in England was higher than that for Scotland in the 1990s and until 2005, but for much of the period between 2005 and 2015 the rate for Scotland was higher than that for England. Over recent years, the employment rate in England has generally been higher than the rate in Scotland.

Wales has historically had an employment rate above that of Northern Ireland, but below levels for England and Scotland. However, in recent years, the employment rates in Wales and Scotland have been at similar levels.

9 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

2. Unemployment The unemployment rate in the UK between October 2018 and September 2019 was 3.9%.

As with the employment rate, there are regional differences in the unemployment rate across the UK:

• The UK region with the highest unemployment rate was the North East at 5.7%.

• The lowest unemployment rate over this same period was in the East of England and Northern Ireland at 3.0%.

How have the unemployment rates of the UK regions and countries compared over the last 13 years?

The regions and countries with the lowest and highest unemployment rates have generally remained the same over this time period. The southern English regions (South East, South West and East of England) have consistently been the regions with the lowest unemployment rates. The North East has had the highest unemployment rate of all UK regions and countries for the last ten years.

2.1 Unemployment by gender Unemployment rates are slightly higher for men than women across the whole of the UK, although rates are higher for women than men in some of the UK’s regions and countries.

Between October 2018 and September 2019, the North East had the highest unemployment rates for women at 4.9%. Northern Ireland had the lowest unemployment rate for women at 2.8%.

The unemployment rate for men was the lowest in the East at 2.9%, while the North East had the highest unemployment rate for men at 6.6%. The unemployment rate for men in the North East was 2.5 percentage points higher than the rate for men across the UK.

5.7

4.6

4.5

4.3

4.2

4.1

3.9

3.9

3.9

3.3

3.1

3.0

3.0

North East

London

West Midlands

Yorks and Humber

East Midlands

Wales

UK

North West

Scotland

South West

South East

Northern Ireland

East

Unemployment rate (%)October 2018-September 2019

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

The unemployment rate is the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed Definitions of labour market concepts can be found in Section 5.

10 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

Wales and the North East had the biggest gaps between the unemployment rate for men and women. The unemployment rate for men was 1.7 percentage points higher than that for women in the North East, and 1.1 percentage points higher in Wales.

The unemployment rate was higher for women than for men in the East, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.

2.2 Unemployment over time Changes in the last year

The unemployment rates in most UK regions and countries were lower in 2018/19 than in 2017/18. The only areas where the rate was higher was in the North East (by 0.5 percentage points) and the South West (0.4 percentage points). The East had the largest fall in the unemployment rate, a fall of 0.9 percentage points.

Recent trend

In all UK regions and countries the unemployment rate increased following the financial crisis of 2008/09. The rate increased by 2.6 percentage points in the UK, with the North East (4.6 percentage points) and Yorkshire and Humber (4.0 percentage points) seeing the largest increase. The South East had the smallest increase at 1.6 percentage points.

Since 2011/12 the unemployment rate has been falling. The unemployment rate is now less than pre-recession levels in all regions and countries. London had the largest fall in the rate between 2007/08 and 2018/19, at 2.3 percentage points. Scotland and the South West had the smallest falls at 0.6 percentage points.

East 2.9 3.0South East 3.1 3.1Northern Ireland 3.2 2.8South West 3.4 3.1East Midlands 4.1 4.3Scotland 4.2 3.5North West 4.3 3.5Yorks and Humber 4.3 4.4Wales 4.6 3.6West Midlands 4.7 4.3London 4.8 4.4North East 6.6 4.9UK 4.1 3.7Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

Men Women

Unemployment rate (%) by genderOctober 2018-September 2019

11 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

Longer term trend

Unemployment rates fell across all the UK countries in the 1990s and 2000s but increased after the 2008/09 financial crisis.

In all UK countries unemployment rates have been falling since around 2012/13.

-2.5

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

Unemployment rate change2007/08-2018/19

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

12 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

3. Types of employment

3.1 Full-time and Part-time Between October 2018 and September 2019, the South West had the highest percentage of people in employment working part-time at 30.4%. London had the lowest percentage of part-time workers at 21.6%. Across the UK, 26.1% of workers were employed part-time.

Trend over time

In the UK as a whole, part-time employment has been rising since the 1950s, although it has fallen slightly over recent years.

The proportion of workers in the UK who are working part-time peaked in 2011/12 at 27.3%. Since then the proportion has been gradually falling.

The South West has consistently had the highest proportion of workers who were in part-time employment, and London has consistently had the lowest.

Part-time work by gender Across all UK regions women in work are considerably more likely than men to be employed part-time. Across the UK 40.6% of women in employment were working part-time compared to 13.1% of men.

The South West had the highest percentage of female workers employed part-time at 45.8%. London had the lowest at 32.6%.

30.4

28.2

27.5

26.9

26.8

26.7

26.5

26.4

26.1

25.0

25.0

24.5

21.6

South West

South East

Wales

Yorks and Humber

North East

East Midlands

Scotland

East

UK

Northern Ireland

North West

West Midlands

London

Percentage in employment working part-timeOctober 2018-September 2019

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

Use the accompanying profile tool to see how the numbers of those working part time has changed in your region.

13 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

3.2 Self-employment Between October 2018 and September 2019, London had the highest proportion of workers who were self-employed at 18.5%. This is 3.3 percentage points higher than the national average for the same period. Scotland had the lowest proportion of workers working part-time at 12.4%, followed by the North East at 12.7%.

Trend over time

There has been a steady increase in the proportion of workers who are self-employed since the 1990s. The proportion of workers in the UK who are self-employed has increased by 2.4 percentage points since 2004.

Many of the regions and countries of the UK have also seen an increase of at least 2 percentage points. The region with the highest growth was the North East, where the proportion of workers who were self-

45.8

43.8

42.6

42.5

42.0

41.6

41.6

41.1

40.6

39.7

39.3

38.6

32.6

South West

South East

East

Wales

Yorks and Humber

North East

East Midlands

Scotland

UK

West Midlands

Northern Ireland

North West

London

Percentage of women who work part-timeOctober 2018-September 2019

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

18.5

17.4

16.4

15.9

15.5

15.2

14.3

14.0

13.7

13.6

13.2

12.7

12.4

London

South West

South East

East

Northern Ireland

UK

Wales

West Midlands

North West

East Midlands

Yorks and Humber

North East

Scotland

Percentage in employment who are self-employedOctober 2018-September 2019

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

To see how self-employment has changed in your region use the accompanying profile tool.

14 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

employed was 3.7 percentage points higher in 2018/19 than in 2004/05.

Self-employment by gender In all UK regions and countries men are more likely to be self-employed than women.

The proportion of working men who are self-employed was highest in London at 22.5%. London also had the highest proportion of women working as self-employed at 13.6%.

Scotland had the lowest proportion of working men who were self-employed at 15.9%, and Scotland and Northern Ireland had the lowest proportion of women working self-employed at 8.7%.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

London

Northern Ireland

South West

East

South East

UK

Wales

West Midlands

North West

Yorks and Humber

East Midlands

North East

Scotland

Women

Men

Self-employment (%) by genderOctober 2018-September 2019

Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey

15 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

4. Average Earnings Average weekly earnings for full-time employees vary across the UK regions and countries. Average here refers to the median, the point at which half earn more and half earn less.

At £699 per week, average weekly earnings for full-time employees in London were the highest of all UK regions and countries in 2019. This is £114 a week above the UK average (£585 per week) and £63 a week higher than the next highest region, the South East (£636 per week).

Average weekly earnings for full-time employees were lowest in the North East at £531 per week, £54 a week lower than the UK average.

How have average weekly earnings for full-time employees in UK regions and countries compared over the last few years?

Since 20115 the three regions with the highest average weekly earnings for full-time employees has not changed. London has had the highest weekly earnings followed by the South East and then the East of England. The regions and countries with the lowest average weekly earnings has tended to stay the same as well. Northern Ireland and the North East have consistently been among these regions, while Wales has also frequently been among them.

4.1 Average earnings over time Changes in the last year

In real terms, taking into account inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, all UK regions and countries experienced a rise in average weekly earnings for full-time employees between 2018 and 2019. Earnings also rose for most UK regions and countries between 2017 and 2018.

5 There is a break in the series for median weekly earnings at 2011, therefore this

discussion only relates to the series since the break.

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

Notes: Data based on region of residence

£0 £100 £200 £300 £400 £500 £600 £700

London

South East

East

United Kingdom

Scotland

South West

North West

West Midlands

East Midlands

Wales

Yorks & Humber

Northern Ireland

North East

Average weekly earnings, full-time employeesApril 2019

The library briefing paper Average earnings by age and region shows how average earnings have changed over time by region and for different age groups.

16 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

In real terms the largest rise in average weekly earnings was in the North West (+2.8%), while London, the South West and Wales also saw rises over 2%. Growth was lowest in Scotland at 0.6% and the West Midlands at 0.8%.

Across the UK, average weekly earnings rose by 0.8% in real terms between April 2018 and April 2019.

Changes between single years could be affected by survey error and therefore do not necessarily indicate a shifting trend.

Longer term trend

Average weekly earnings for full-time employees have, in real terms, suffered a squeeze since the financial crisis in 2008/09, and are currently lower than in 2008 in nearly all of the UK’s regions and countries. The only exception is Northern Ireland where earnings were 1.4% higher in 2019 than in 2008, and in Wales where earnings were 0.4% higher.

The pay squeeze has been most pronounced in London, where average weekly earnings were 5.9% lower in real terms in 2019 than in 2008.

Across the UK as a whole, average weekly earnings were 4.2% lower in real terms in 2019 than in 2008.

4.2 Average weekly earnings by gender Average weekly earnings for full-time employees are higher for men than for women in all UK regions and countries.

Earnings for both men and women were highest in London, with men earning an average of £92 more per week than women in 2019. The largest difference in earnings in any region was in the South East where men earned an average of £135 more than women per week. The smallest difference was in Northern Ireland where men earned an average of £36 more. Across the UK, men earned an average of £101 more per week than women in 2019.

-7%

-6%

-5%

-4%

-3%

-2%

-1%

0%

1%

2%

Percentage change in average weekly earnings Real terms, April 2008 - April 2019

17 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

The table below shows average weekly earnings for male and female full-time employees.

How has pay for women and men changed over time? Since the financial crisis in 2008/09, average weekly earnings in real terms have fallen by more for full-time male employees than females in all UK regions and countries, with real terms increases in most areas for female employees. Across the whole of the UK between 2008 and 2019, men have seen their real terms earnings fall by 6.0%, while women have seen growth of 1.1%

The highest increase in real average weekly earnings for women was in Northern Ireland (6.5%). All regions except London, the South East and the East Midlands saw an increase. Earnings fell by the most for women in London (-3.2%).

In contrast, earnings fell for men in all the UK regions and countries. The fall was largest in the South East (-8.8%) and lowest in Northern Ireland (-2.3%).

Northern Ireland 548.9 549 513.3 513

North East 572.5 573 475.4 475

Wales 578.3 578 488.7 489

Yorks & Humber 579.9 580 476.2 476

West Midlands 588.6 589 495.3 495

East Midlands 590.3 590 476.1 476

North West 598.0 598 498.0 498

South West 600.0 600 492.2 492

Scotland 623.7 624 527.3 527

United Kingdom 628.4 628 527.8 528

East 659.4 659 537.8 538

South East 689.9 690 555.4 555

London 747.4 747 655.9 656

Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

Notes: Data based on region of residence

Average weekly earnings, full-time employees£s, April 2019

Men Women

18 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, CPI: ONS series D7BTNotes: Data based on region of residence

April 2008- April 2019% change in real average weekly earnings, by gender

-5%

0%

5%

Women

-10%

-5%

0%

Men

19 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

5. Notes on sources Data for employment (including full-time and part-time and self-employment) and unemployment is taken from the Annual Population Survey published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Data on long term trends in employment and unemployment is taken from the Labour Force Survey also published by ONS.

Data for average weekly earnings is taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

Annual Population Survey

Data from the ONS Annual Population Survey in this paper relates to the 12 month period between October and September for each respective year.

All levels are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Labour Force Survey

Data from the ONS Labour Force Survey refers to three month rolling periods and is seasonally adjusted.

Key definitions

• Employment level: People aged 16+ in employment.

• Employment rate: Percentage of people aged 16-64 in employment.

• Unemployment level: People aged 16+ who are unemployed- Not in work, have sought work in the past month and are ready to work within the next two weeks.

• Unemployment rate: percentage of people economically active aged 16+ who are unemployed.

• Part-time employment level: Number of people aged 16+ in work who are working part-time.

• Part-time employment percent: Percentage of those working who are working part-time.

• Self-employment level: Number of people aged 16+ who are self-employed (self-report as self-employed).

• Self-employment percent: Percentage of those working who are self-employed.

Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

Data from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings relates to April of each given year.

This data is for full-time employee jobs only and therefore excludes part-time and self-employed workers.

This data relates to those living in the defined region rather than those working there.

All real terms data has been indexed to 2019 prices.

Average refers to the median; the point at which half of full-time employees earn more than and half earn less than.

There are two breaks in the series at years 2006 and 2011 where survey methodology changed. Comparisons across these time periods should take account of these breaks.

20 Labour market statistics: UK regions and countries

6. Annex tables

Employment Level (16+), UK Regions, 2004/05 to 2018/19 (October to September), Thousands

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19North East 1,134 1,141 1,162 1,159 1,133 1,131 1,107 1,118 1,122 1,152 1,171 1,186 1,191 1,196 1,208North West 3,155 3,174 3,182 3,202 3,138 3,159 3,157 3,168 3,200 3,191 3,269 3,332 3,381 3,429 3,454Yorks and Humber 2,395 2,392 2,412 2,430 2,377 2,361 2,345 2,368 2,412 2,432 2,522 2,537 2,552 2,560 2,582East Midlands 2,081 2,124 2,152 2,155 2,119 2,110 2,113 2,124 2,124 2,193 2,226 2,259 2,256 2,291 2,338West Midlands 2,484 2,489 2,506 2,505 2,452 2,445 2,434 2,470 2,520 2,557 2,599 2,638 2,689 2,749 2,770East 2,746 2,745 2,748 2,807 2,784 2,764 2,798 2,830 2,880 2,924 2,982 2,999 3,021 3,037 3,091London 3,542 3,554 3,669 3,761 3,759 3,796 3,854 3,943 4,052 4,223 4,353 4,461 4,513 4,610 4,654South East 4,122 4,147 4,182 4,219 4,197 4,173 4,197 4,214 4,257 4,360 4,420 4,457 4,535 4,530 4,633South West 2,451 2,474 2,537 2,555 2,512 2,512 2,510 2,519 2,552 2,593 2,676 2,701 2,742 2,769 2,783Wales 1,320 1,327 1,342 1,359 1,324 1,325 1,318 1,334 1,360 1,381 1,398 1,416 1,431 1,447 1,468Scotland 2,445 2,475 2,527 2,555 2,508 2,475 2,475 2,484 2,482 2,550 2,580 2,586 2,625 2,644 2,661Northern Ireland 748 763 784 795 768 773 793 797 797 813 813 831 835 845 865

UK 28,623 28,806 29,201 29,502 29,070 29,023 29,103 29,369 29,759 30,368 31,010 31,403 31,771 32,107 32,507

Employment Rate (16-64), UK Regions, 2004/05 to 2018/19 (October to September), %

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19North East 68.8 68.8 69.6 68.9 67.0 66.6 64.9 65.7 66.1 68.0 69.0 69.9 70.4 70.8 71.2North West 70.8 70.6 70.2 70.1 68.4 68.5 68.2 68.5 69.2 69.0 70.6 71.6 72.6 73.7 74.3Yorks and Humber 72.5 71.6 71.5 71.5 69.4 68.4 67.7 68.5 69.5 70.2 72.4 72.4 73.0 73.4 73.8East Midlands 73.8 74.3 74.4 73.9 72.2 71.2 70.9 71.2 71.2 73.4 73.5 74.3 74.0 74.8 76.0West Midlands 71.7 71.0 70.8 70.3 68.5 67.9 67.0 68.0 68.8 69.6 70.7 71.0 72.0 73.4 73.8East 76.6 75.6 74.8 75.4 74.7 73.4 73.3 74.1 75.0 75.9 76.8 76.8 77.3 77.7 78.1London 68.2 67.4 68.6 69.2 67.8 67.5 67.2 67.9 69.2 71.2 72.3 73.5 73.7 74.4 74.4South East 77.4 77.0 76.8 76.6 75.6 74.6 74.4 74.7 74.8 75.9 76.7 77.2 78.4 78.0 79.3South West 75.5 75.5 76.5 76.4 74.6 73.9 73.7 73.7 74.6 75.4 77.3 77.3 78.1 78.7 79.2Wales 69.3 69.2 69.0 69.3 67.2 66.8 66.3 67.2 68.3 69.5 70.3 71.1 72.0 72.6 73.5Scotland 72.7 73.1 74.1 74.3 72.3 71.0 70.5 70.6 70.5 72.3 73.1 72.8 73.8 74.3 74.8Northern Ireland 66.9 66.9 68.1 68.3 65.5 65.4 66.9 67.1 66.8 68.1 67.7 69.0 69.3 69.9 71.3

UK 72.6 72.2 72.5 72.5 70.9 70.2 69.8 70.3 70.9 72.1 73.2 73.7 74.4 75.0 75.6

21 Commons Library Briefing, 9 March 2020

Unemployment level (16+), UK Regions, 2004/05 to 2018/19 (October to September), Thousands

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19North East 68 80 79 84 114 120 126 135 128 111 96 86 82 66 74North West 162 176 193 199 282 281 277 301 276 254 203 179 168 147 140Yorks and Humber 110 144 139 150 208 219 244 244 241 212 163 150 130 126 117East Midlands 95 112 113 122 164 169 174 190 178 138 117 100 98 102 102West Midlands 129 148 153 164 251 240 242 234 254 201 159 160 154 131 131East 109 131 122 126 178 196 198 210 194 165 132 119 110 121 95London 272 307 277 278 351 380 406 399 398 329 295 282 260 246 226South East 158 192 180 187 247 266 265 261 281 222 198 194 158 160 149South West 87 99 98 102 156 157 161 158 161 145 113 116 99 82 94Wales 68 75 76 82 116 117 123 122 120 102 93 70 73 70 63Scotland 141 137 132 120 176 201 216 215 210 178 165 133 118 116 108Northern Ireland 36 39 34 31 51 56 59 64 65 55 53 54 41 32 27

UK 1,436 1,639 1,597 1,646 2,295 2,403 2,492 2,535 2,506 2,113 1,787 1,644 1,492 1,397 1,324

Unemployment Rate (16+), UK Regions, 2004/05 to 2018/19 (October to September), %

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19North East 5.7 6.6 6.4 6.8 9.1 9.6 10.3 10.8 10.2 8.8 7.6 6.8 6.4 5.2 5.7North West 4.9 5.2 5.7 5.8 8.2 8.2 8.1 8.7 7.9 7.4 5.9 5.1 4.7 4.1 3.9Yorks and Humber 4.4 5.7 5.5 5.8 8.1 8.5 9.4 9.3 9.1 8.0 6.1 5.6 4.9 4.7 4.3East Midlands 4.4 5.0 5.0 5.3 7.2 7.4 7.6 8.2 7.7 5.9 5.0 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.2West Midlands 5.0 5.6 5.7 6.1 9.3 9.0 9.0 8.7 9.2 7.3 5.8 5.7 5.4 4.5 4.5East 3.8 4.6 4.3 4.3 6.0 6.6 6.6 6.9 6.3 5.3 4.2 3.8 3.5 3.8 3.0London 7.1 8.0 7.0 6.9 8.5 9.1 9.5 9.2 8.9 7.2 6.4 6.0 5.4 5.1 4.6South East 3.7 4.4 4.1 4.2 5.6 6.0 5.9 5.8 6.2 4.8 4.3 4.2 3.4 3.4 3.1South West 3.4 3.8 3.7 3.8 5.8 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.3 4.1 4.1 3.5 2.9 3.3Wales 4.9 5.3 5.3 5.7 8.1 8.1 8.5 8.4 8.1 6.9 6.2 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.1Scotland 5.5 5.2 5.0 4.5 6.6 7.5 8.0 8.0 7.8 6.5 6.0 4.9 4.3 4.2 3.9Northern Ireland 4.6 4.8 4.2 3.8 6.3 6.8 7.0 7.4 7.6 6.4 6.1 6.1 4.7 3.6 3.0

UK 4.8 5.4 5.2 5.3 7.3 7.6 7.9 7.9 7.8 6.5 5.4 5.0 4.5 4.2 3.9

BRIEFING PAPER Number 7950 9 March 2020

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