News

• 19 May 2020

  Unprecedented increase of +5,370 unemployed due to Coronavirus measures

  Unemployment figures (Claimant Count, Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)) for April 2020 were released on Tuesday 19 May 2020 by the Department of Works and Pensions, and are now available in profiles, tables and maps. Figures shown use the headline 'Claimant Count' indicator introduced in October 2015, which counts the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance plus those who claim Universal Credit who are out of work.
  
  Profile: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/profiles/profile?profileId=124
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=555
  
  The unemployment total for Kirklees in April 2020 was 15,645 or 5.8% of 16-64 year old population (England 5.1%). This represents an unprecedented increase of +5,370 on the previous month, and an increase of +6,170 claimants on the same time last year; the lowest number of claimants in recent years was in December 2016 (5,380). The last time that unemployment was numerically this high was in April 1994 (15,640 6.5%), though in January 1986 it reached 20,855. In the Leeds City Region York has the lowest unemployment (3.2%), with Bradford the highest (7.5%). The ward with the highest unemployment rate is Dewsbury West (8.7%), with Denby Dale the lowest at 2.6%.
  
  Youth unemployment (18-24) stood at 3,010 or 8% of the population aged 18-24 (England 6.6%), +945 higher than last month and +1,070 higher than the same time last year.
  

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• 05 May 2020

  Gross Value Added (GVA) balanced approach - figures for 1998 to 2018 added to the Observatory.

  Gross Value Added (GVA) is a standard measure of economic output. It describes the total size of an economy and measures the contribution of all activities which produce goods or services. Historically ONS has produced estimates of regional gross value added (GVA) using the income approach GVAI) (as National Statistics) and the production approach GVA (P) (as Experimental Statistics). However, since 2017 ONS have taken the strengths from both approaches and used them to produce a new balanced measure of regional GVA, GVA(B). This gives users a single measure of economic activity within a region, therefore avoiding any confusion from having two different estimates of the same thing. To produce comparative measures, it is usually expressed as a value for each member of the resident population and so produces a measure of GVA per capita. GVA is a measure of the increase in the value of the economy due to the production of goods and services.
  
  In 2018 the GVA (B) for Kirklees was £7.5bn which represents less than 1% of the England total of £1.643tn. Kirklees GVA per head is £17,084 (England £29,356), with Leeds having the highest in the Leeds City Region at £33,248. Nationally, Westminster has the highest GVA per head (£267,958) with East Renfrewshire the lowest at £11,022. Manufacturing accounts for 24.5% of GVA in Kirklees (England 9.6%).
  
  Profile: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/profiles/profile?profileId=281
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=566
  
  The full breakdown of GVA by industry and other measures can be found at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva

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• 01 May 2020

  Updated child benefit figures

  Child benefit figures for August 2019 were released on 23 April 2020 by HM Revenue and Customs. In Kirklees child benefit is claimed on behalf of 95,895 children aged 0 to 19 in 53,270 families. Families with more than one child form the majority of claims (54.4%) with 45.6% claimed by families with one child. Some families in Kirklees have chosen to opt out of receiving child benefit so that they do not pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge amounting to 3,865 children in 2,445 families (the charge was introduced in January 2013). In 2010 there were 54,810 families with dependent children receiving child benefit which was then universal. In 2019 the number of families with dependent children including opted out was 55,725 an increase of 1.7%.
  
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=188
  

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• 30 April 2020

  2018 fuel poverty statistics released today

  Fuel poverty figures for 2018 were released on 30 April 2020 by the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. In Kirklees 10.6% of households live in fuel poverty (England 10.3%). Areas of older housing are those which are likely to be most energy inefficient. In Kirklees Savile Town, Lockwood, Thornton Lodge and part of Ravensthorpe all have between 22-25% of households which are fuel poor.
  
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=504
  
  Fuel poverty in England is measured using the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator, which considers a household to be fuel poor if:
  • they have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level); and
  • were they to spend that amount, they would be left with a residual income below the poverty line.
  
  Residual income is defined as equivalised income after housing costs, tax and National Insurance.
  The poverty line (income poverty) is defined as an equivalised disposable income of less than 60% of the national median.
  

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• 29 April 2020

  Kirklees unemployment decreases by 60 to 10,275 (March 2020)

  Unemployment figures (Claimant Count, Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)) for March 2020 were released on Tuesday 21 April 2020 by the Department of Works and Pensions, and are now available in profiles, tables and maps. Figures shown use the headline 'Claimant Count' indicator introduced in October 2015, which counts the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance plus those who claim Universal Credit who are out of work.
  
  Profile: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/profiles/profile?profileId=124
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=555
  
  
  The unemployment total for Kirklees in March 2020 was 10,275 or 3.8% of 16-64 year old population (England 3.1%). This represents a decrease of -60 on the previous month, and an increase of +905 claimants on the same time last year; the lowest number of claimants in recent years was in December 2016 (5,380). However, under Universal Credit a broader span of claimants are required to look for work than under Jobseeker's Allowance. As Universal Credit Full Service is rolled out in particular areas, the number of people recorded as being on the Claimant Count is therefore likely to rise.
  The number unemployed January 2008 to date peaked in February 2013 (13,440). In the Leeds City Region Craven and York have the lowest unemployment (1.3%), with Bradford the highest (5.2%). The ward with the highest unemployment rate is Dewsbury West (6.0%), with Kirkburton the lowest at 1.2%.
  
  Youth unemployment (18-24) stood at 2,065 or 5.5% of the population aged 18-24 (England 4.2%), +40 higher than last month and +135 higher than the same time last year. However, the claimant count underestimates youth unemployment as not everyone is entitled to benefit or chooses to claim. From the Annual Population Survey it is estimated that the number of young people unemployed in West Yorkshire is around 80% higher compared to the claimant count.
  
  There are two ways of measuring unemployment. The alternative method to the claimant count is the Annual Population Survey which is less accurate, but counts people who are not eligible for benefit that are out of work and actively seeking work. In Kirklees the latest model-based unemployment figure was 8,700 or 4.1% of those aged 16 and over and economically active (England 3.9%). However, confidence intervals reveal that the true number unemployed for Kirklees could lie between 10,700 and 6,700 (3.1% to 5.1%), so this helps to show why this measure is not often quoted; nevertheless the trend from this measure has been downwards, and the latest figure for people surveyed between H
  January 2019 and December 2019 is statistically significantly lower than January 2011 and December 2011.
  

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