Unemployment increase for Wales

May 14 2008 By Aled Blake, Media Wales

UNEMPLOYMENT in Wales went up by 6,000 in the three months to March to 77,000, according to official figures.

That statistic is reflected across the UK, with unemployment increasing and the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rising at the highest rate for two years.

The so-called claimant count for the UK went up by 7,200 in March to 806,300, the third consecutive monthly rise and the biggest monthly increase since April 2006.

The last time the count rose for three months in a row was two years ago, said the Office for National Statistics.
The total number of unemployed, including people not eligible for benefit, increased by 14,000 in the three months to March to 1.61 million, the highest since the end of 2007.

The last time both sets of jobless figures increased at the same time was September 2006.
Manufacturing jobs continued to reach a record low, down by 27,000 in the latest quarter to 2.9 million compared with a year ago, the worst since comparable records began in 1978.

Despite the increase in unemployment, the number of people in work increased by 117,000 in the three months to March to 29.54 million, a record high, reflecting an increase in the working-age population.

There were 22 million people in full-time jobs, up by 84,000 from the end of last year, and 7.5 million part-timers, a rise of 33,000.
The number of people in public sector employment increased by 7,000 to 5.7 million by the end of last year, while jobs in private firms rose by 154,000 to 23 million.

Average earnings increased by 4% in the year to March, up by 0.3% on the previous month. Wage growth in private firms was 4%, compared with 3.8% in the public sector, according to the data.

There were 682,800 job vacancies in the UK in the three months to April, up 6,700 from the previous quarter. The number of people classed as economically inactive, including those looking after a sick relative, people who have taken early retirement or who have given up looking for work, fell by 33,000 in the latest quarter to 7.88 million, 20% of the working age population.

There were 67,000 working days lost through industrial disputes in March, the highest since last December, taking the yearly total to 982,000, three times higher than the year to March 2007.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The increase in unemployment will worry workers, and the rising numbers of people who are long-term unemployed are a particular concern.

“As rising prices and unemployment begin to bite, the £60 boost that basic rate taxpayers will receive in September is just the tonic needed. The Chancellor should consider whether it is possible to bring this measure forward and to pay the whole year’s rebate in one go.”

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said: “The labour market is now showing clear evidence of softening as markedly weaker growth and deteriorating business confidence impact.

“Unemployment is a lagging indicator and it seems inevitable that extended below-trend growth and markedly weaker business confidence will exact an increasing toll on the labour market over the coming months.”