News

• 17 October 2019

  New employee figures for 2018 show 2,000 more manufacturing jobs

  Employment estimates were released by ONS on 26 September 2019. The number of employees working in Kirklees showed no increase from 2017 to 2018 at 156,000, this is lower than the peak year of 2004 (160,000). Kirklees has the highest percentage of people in the Leeds City Region (LCR) working in manufacturing (lowest York 4.7%), with 17.4% of employees compared to 8.0% in England and 10.6% LCR. Manufacturing jobs in Kirklees increased from 25,000 in 2017 to 27,000 in 2018, with Dewsbury West ward having the highest percentage of manufacturing employees at 40%.
  Profile: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/profiles/profile?profileId=165&geoTypeId=
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=270
  

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• 11 October 2019

  Index of Deprivation 2019

  A report summarising changes in Kirklees has been produced and is available at:
  
  http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/resource/view?resourceId=4722
  
  A programme of work is underway to update profiles and tables with 2019 indices.
  

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• 17 September 2019

  Kirklees unemployment rises by 95 to 9,620 (August 2019)

  Unemployment figures (Claimant Count, Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)) for August 2019 were released on Tuesday 10 September 2019 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&geoTypeId=
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=555
  
  The unemployment total for Kirklees in August 2019 was 9,620 or 3.5% of 16-64 year old population (England 2.8%). This represents an increase of +95 on the previous month, and an increase of +1,225 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 (4.6%). The ward with the highest unemployment rate is Dewsbury West (5.3%), with Kirkburton the lowest at 1.1%.
  
  Youth unemployment (18-24) stood at 1,970 or 5.1% of the population aged 18-24 (England 3.7%), +35 higher than last month and +235 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 twice as high 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 9,500 or 4.5% of those aged 16 and over and economically active (England 4.1%). However, confidence intervals reveal that the true number unemployed for Kirklees could lie between 11,900 and 7,100 (5.6% to 3.4%), so this helps to show why this measure is not often quoted; nevertheless the trend has been downwards, and the latest figure for people surveyed between April 2018 and March 2019 is statistically significantly lower than April 2010 and March 2011.
  

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• 21 August 2019

  Kirklees unemployment rises slightly to 9,525 (July 2019)

  Unemployment figures (Claimant Count, Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)) for July 2019 were released on Tuesday 13 August 2019 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&geoTypeId=
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=555
  
  The unemployment total for Kirklees in July 2019 was 9,525 or 3.5% of 16-64 year old population (England 2.8%). This represents an increase of +65 on the previous month, and an increase of +1,290 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 has the lowest unemployment (1.2%), with Bradford the highest (4.5%). The ward with the highest unemployment rate is Dewsbury West (5.4%), with Kirkburton the lowest at 1.0%.
  
  Youth unemployment (18-24) stood at 1,935 or 5.0% of the population aged 18-24 (England 3.7%), +15 higher than last month and +245 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 twice as high 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 9,500 or 4.5% of those aged 16 and over and economically active (England 4.1%). However, confidence intervals reveal that the true number unemployed for Kirklees could lie between 11,900 and 7,100 (5.6% to 3.4%), so this helps to show why this measure is not often quoted; nevertheless the trend has been downwards, and the latest figure for people surveyed between April 2018 and March 2019 is statistically significantly lower than April 2010 and March 2011.
  

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• 22 July 2019

  Kirklees unemployment remains steady at 9,460 (June 2019)

  Unemployment figures (Claimant Count, Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)) for June 2019 were released on Tuesday 16 July 2019 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&geoTypeId=
  Table: http://observatory.kirklees.gov.uk/dataviews/view?viewId=555
  
  The unemployment total for Kirklees in June 2019 was 9,460 or 3.5% of 16-64 year old population (England 2.7%). This represents a slight decrease of -5 on the previous month, and an increase of +1,385 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 has the lowest unemployment (1.2%), with Bradford the highest (4.4%). The ward with the highest unemployment rate is Dewsbury West (5.5%), with Kirkburton the lowest at 1.0%.
  
  Youth unemployment (18-24) stood at 1,920 or 5.0% of the population aged 18-24 (England 3.6%), +15 higher than last month and +295 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 twice as high 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 9,500 or 4.5% of those aged 16 and over and economically active (England 4.1%). However, confidence intervals reveal that the true number unemployed for Kirklees could lie between 11,900 and 7,100 (5.6% to 3.4%), so this helps to show why this measure is not often quoted; nevertheless the trend has been downwards, and the latest figure for people surveyed between April 2018 and March 2019 is statistically significantly lower than April 2010 and March 2011.
  

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