Summary

Unemploymentand JobsUpdate, Milton Keynes,May,2013

Headlines:

  • Unemployment (Claimant count) fell to 5,627in Milton Keynes(3.4% of the working population) in May 2013 from 5,844 (3.5%) in April2013, adecrease of 217claimants.
  • The May 2013 rate of 3.4% compares to a rate of 4% in May 2012.
  • The MK unemployment rate of 3.4% was 0.3% lower than the UKrate, but higher thanthe South East England rate of 2.3%and the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership arearate of 3.1%.
  • The impact of unemploymentamong young people (aged 24 years of age and under) remains an issue regionally and nationally. Young people made up 20.8% of the unemployed in MK in May 2013 (a decrease of 0.9% on the April 2013 proportion), compared to 24.5% in the South East region and 26.1% in the UK.
  • Unemployment rates for young people were 2.6% and 5.8%for age groups 16 -19 and 20-24 years of age respectively.
  • Long-term unemployment (claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) for one year and over) decreased to 1,385 in May2013, from 1,445 in April2013.
  • Thoseclaiming JSAfor one year and over made up 24.6% of the claimant count in MK in May 2013, adecrease in absolute terms of 10 claimants from April 2013.
  • Those claiming JSA for over 6 months made up 42% of the 5,627unemployed job seekers in MK, in May 2013, a rate of 1.4%.
  • Over one quarter of job seekers (28.1%) in May2013 were looking for jobs in ‘Elementary occupations’, signifying low skill levels.
  • Jobcentre Plus is working on a new system of reporting job vacancies.
  • On balance, job vacancy levels in MKhave remained high as unemployment is falling,signifying a relatively high level of economic activity. The second quarter is experiencing decreases in unemployment which confirms a positive economic outlook.
  • A medium term solution to the Euro zone financial crisis and domestic actions on budget deficit reduction and economic growth will have positive implications for the level of economic activity in the whole economy and indeed for the MK economy.
  • UK inflation went up in May to 2.7% from 2.4% in April 2013 due to a jump in air fares and rising petrol prices, thus reducing consumer purchasing power. Uncertainty remains in the national and global economiesbut locally there are signs of an improving economic outlook.
  • Unemploymentremains a concern butMilton Keynes Council is committed to assisting in growing the Milton Keynes economy, creating jobs and ensuring that Milton Keynesis always open for business.
  1. Unemployment Rate (Claimant Count)

Unemployment claimant count was 5,627job seekersin 2013compared to 5,844in April2013, thus, 217 fewer job seekers. The unemployment rate in Milton Keynesfell to3.4% in May 2013, a 0.1% decrease on the April2013 proportion. The MK unemployment rate of 3.4% was0.3% lower than the UK rate. The South EastEngland region rate was 2.3% and the rate for the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership area (SEMLEP) was 3.1%.The MK ratewas1.1%higher than the South East rate and 0.3% higher than the SEMLEP rate.In neighbouring local authority areas, the unemployment rates in May2013were: 4.3% in Northampton, 4.1% in Luton, 4.1% in Bedford, 2.3% in Central Bedfordshire, 1.8% in Aylesbury Vale and1.8% in Buckinghamshire.

Analysis of unemployment by Ward in May2013shows high levels inWoughton – 7.3%, Eaton Manor –7.2%,Campbell Park – 5.9%, Wolverton – 5.3%, Bletchley and Fenny Stratford –4.4%, Bradwell – 4.5%, Denbigh –5.1%, Stantonbury – 4.4% and Stony Stratford – 3.5%. Indeed, ninewards in MK have unemployment rates which are above the MK average of 3.4%.In all these wards, the majority of the claimants haveworked in, and or are looking for jobs in Elementary occupations, indicating that low skills levels are an issue.

  • Long Term Unemployment

The unemployment rate for those who had been unemployed for longer than one year stood at0.8%of the working age population, a 0.1% fall in a long while,` (1,385), and 24.6% of the claimant count in MK in May2013, a decrease inclaimants of 60 and a 0.2% decrease on the April2013 proportion.The longer a job seeker is out of work, the more difficult it is to find suitable employment as they will have to compete for jobs with new entrants into labour market.

Those claiming JobSeeker’s Allowance (JSA)for over 6 months made up 42% of the unemployed claimants in MK, in May2013, anincrease of 0.2% on theApril 2013 proportion and a rate of 1.4% of the working age population.

Young people (aged 24 and under) made up 20.8% of those claiming JSA in MK in May2013, (a decrease of 0.9% on the March2013 proportion), compared to 24.5%in the South EastEngland region and 26.1% in the UK. A proportion of 2.6% (145young people) was claiming JSA for over 12 months in May2013, a decrease of 0.1% on the April 2013 proportion. Young people who had been unemployed and claimingJSA for over 6 monthsin May2013 made up 5.5% (310) of the claimant count,same proportion as inApril 2013.Those aged 25 and over and claiming JSA for over one year made up 22.1% (1,240) of all JSA claimants in MK in May2013, same proportion as in April 2013 but a decrease in absolute terms of 50 claimants.

Claimants aged 25 and over, claiming for over 18 months made15.8% of the claimant count (885) in May2013,a 0.3% increase on the May 2013proportion but an increase of 20 claimants inabsolute terms.Those aged 25 and over and claiming for over 2 years made 10.7% of the claimant count (605 claimants).Claimants aged 50 and over and claiming JSA for over 6 months made up 9.2% (515claimants) of the claimant count in MK in May 2013, an increase of 0.4% on the April 2013proportion but no change in absoluteterms.

Characteristics of the unemployed:

  1. Age and gender profile

Young people aged 20 – 24 made a significant proportion of the claimants, 15% of the claimant count (845) in May2013compared to910 claimants in April2013, a decrease of 65claimants.Those aged 25-29 made the second largest group of claimants 780(13.9%).Those under 20 years old also made a significant proportion, 5.8% (325) of all the claimant count unemployment in May 2013,a 0.3% decrease on the April 2013proportion. Young people, aged up to24 years made up underone-quarter (20.8%) of all claimant count unemployment in May 2013(a decrease of 0.9% on the April 2013 proportion) compared to 24.5% in the South East and 26.1% in the UK.

Analysis of unemployment by age group as a percentage of the working age population in that age group also shows unemployment to be highest in the 20-24 age group in May 2013,at5.8%, a decrease of 0.4% on the April 2013 proportion. Unemployment rates for young people were 2.6% and 5.8% for age groups 16 -19 and 20-24 years of age respectively.

In terms of gender, males made up 64.1% of the claimants and females made up 35.9% of the claimants in May2013, adecrease of 0.1% on the April2013female proportion.

  • NEET

The number of young people (16-19 year olds) in Milton Keynes who were ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) in May2013 was 489, 5.6% of the Year 12 to Year 14 cohort compared to 497 (5.6%) in April2013.The number of young people in learning was 7,419 in May2013, 82.1% of the cohort.The cohort count includes all young people in this age group resident in MK,and excludes those who are educated in MK but live in other local authority areas.

  1. Ethnicity

Ethnicity figures lag by a month. In April2013, White people made up the majority of the claimant count, 4,410 (75.5%) reflecting the MK population distribution profile. Ethnic Minority Groups (EMGs) made up 20.9% of the unemployment claimant countin April 2013,a 0.3% increase on the March 2013 proportion. Among the EMGs, Black Africansmade a significant proportion of the claimants(510), 41.8% of all EMG claimantsand8.7% of all claimants in April2013,an increase of 0.6% on the March 2013proportion.Those whoseethnicity was not known made 3.6% of the claimants.

  1. Sought after Occupation

There was little or no change in the proportions and choices of occupations which job seekers (5,627) would like to join. In May2013, job seekers were looking for work in the following occupations and in proportions indicated:

Sales & Customer Service – 30.8% / Elementary jobs – 28.1%
Admin & Secretarial – 9% / Process, Plant, Machinery – 6.8%
Skills Trades – 5.9% / Personal Service – 4.4%
Assoc Professional & Technical – 4.8% / Manager & Snr Officials – 4.2%

NB. Elementary (low skilled) occupations dominate the occupational aspirations of job seekers

  1. Previous/ Usual Occupation of Job Seeker

The previous occupations of job seekers seem to match their sought after occupations as the proportions below show:

Sales and Customer Service – 29.9% / . Elementary jobs – 28.3%
Admin and Secretarial – 9.8% / Process, Plant and Machinery – 6.4%
Skills Trades – 5.8% / Personal Services – 4.7%
AssocProfessional & TechOccupations –4.6% / Managers and Snr Officials – 4.3%
  1. Job Vacancies

Statistics on Jobcentre Plus vacancies, that is, job vacancies notified by employers to Jobcentre Plus, are collected from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. However, they are not comprehensive since many job vacancies are filled without reference to Jobcentre Plus. As a result Jobcentre Plus stopped publishing the job vacancy statistics in November 2012 with a view to introducing a more comprehensive job vacancy dataset.

  1. Conclusion

Uncertainties remain in the national economy but there are signs that confidence is returning. In the local economy the fact that the unemployment rate in MK has continued to fall, from 3.5% in April to 3.4% in May 2013 ispositive and an indication that confidence in the economic outlook is returning.

Ephraidge Rinomhota

Economic Development Team

PTO for supporting Tables and Charts:

Tables and Charts

Unemployment Rate, Milton Keynes, May 2013
Wards / Claimants / Rate (%)
Apr-13 / May-13 / May-13
Bletchley & Fenny Stratford / 378 / 354 / 4.4
Bradwell / 448 / 401 / 4.5
CampbellPark / 656 / 632 / 5.9
Danesborough / 53 / 54 / 1.9
Denbigh / 255 / 263 / 5.1
Eaton Manor / 404 / 384 / 7.2
EmersonValley / 240 / 239 / 1.9
Furzton / 164 / 154 / 2.5
HanslopePark / 68 / 60 / 2.0
Linford North / 160 / 154 / 2.7
Linford South / 179 / 167 / 2.6
Loughton / 247 / 247 / 2.0
Middleton / 264 / 267 / 2.8
Newport Pagnell North / 85 / 88 / 1.7
Newport Pagnell South / 94 / 90 / 1.7
Olney / 64 / 60 / 1.1
Sherington / 27 / 21 / 0.8
Stantonbury / 266 / 265 / 4.4
Stony Stratford / 276 / 263 / 3.5
WaltonPark / 227 / 230 / 2.3
Whaddon / 184 / 169 / 3.1
Wolverton / 534 / 515 / 5.3
Woughton / 571 / 550 / 7.3
Milton Keynes Total / 5,844 / 5,627 / 3.4
Duration of Unemployment - Milton Keynes
Less than 1 Year / More than 1 Year
Claimants / Rate / Claimants / Rate
Apr-13 / 4,400 / 2.7 / 1,450 / 0.9
May-13 / 4,240 / 2.6 / 1,385 / 0.9
CountyComparisons / May-13
Regional Comparisons / Apr-13 / May-13 / Milton Keynes / 3.4
Milton Keynes Council / 3.5 / 3.4 / Buckinghamshire / 1.8
South East / 2.4 / 2.3 / Northamptonshire / 3.5
UK / 3.8 / 3.7 / Aylesbury Vale / 1.8
Northampton / 4.2 / 4.1 / Oxfordshire / 1.5
Luton / 4.5 / 4.3 / Hertfordshire / 2.3
Wellingborough / 4.7 / 4.7 / West Berkshire / 1.6
Slough / 3.5 / 3.5 / Windsor & Maidenhead / 1.8
Reading / 3.2 / 3.1 / Wokingham / 1.2
Source: NOMIS
Unemployment Claimant rate, SEMLEP May 2013
Area / Male / Female / Total
Number / Rate / Number / Rate / Number / Rate
Milton Keynes / 3,605 / 4.4 / 2,022 / 2.4 / 5,627 / 3.4
Aylesbury Vale / 1,301 / 2.3 / 700 / 1.2 / 2,001 / 1.8
Cherwell / 818 / 1.8 / 461 / 1.0 / 1,279 / 1.4
Bedford / 2,708 / 5.4 / 1,446 / 2.8 / 4,154 / 4.1
Central Bedfordshire / 2,436 / 2.9 / 1,400 / 1.7 / 3,836 / 2.3
Luton / 3,606 / 5.4 / 2,078 / 3.2 / 5,684 / 4.3
Corby / 1,342 / 6.7 / 744 / 3.7 / 2,086 / 5.2
Daventry / 728 / 2.9 / 422 / 1.7 / 1,150 / 2.3
Kettering / 1,491 / 5.0 / 778 / 2.6 / 2,269 / 3.8
Northampton / 3,809 / 5.4 / 2,024 / 2.9 / 5,833 / 4.1
South Northamptonshire / 444 / 1.7 / 254 / 0.9 / 698 / 1.3
South East Midlands / 22,288 / 4.0 / 12,329 / 2.2 / 34,617 / 3.1
Source: NOMIS

The Characteristics of People Claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance, MK

Age Distribution of Claimants, May2013

Source: NOMIS

Unemployment in MK, May 2013 as a Percentage of Working Age Population for each Age Group.
Unemployed / Total Population / Unemployment Rate
Age Group / Number / Number / %
16-19 / 325 / 12,500 / 2.6
20-24 / 845 / 14,590 / 5.8
25-29 / 780 / 16,100 / 4.8
30-34 / 700 / 16,880 / 4.1
35-39 / 660 / 19,240 / 3.4
40-44 / 655 / 19,450 / 3.4
45-49 / 630 / 17,530 / 3.6
50-54 / 500 / 15,520 / 3.2
55-59 / 415 / 13,930 / 3.0
60+ / 120 / 12,450 / 1.0
Source: NOMIS & MKC

Unemployment by Ethnicity, MK, April 2013

Source: NOMIS

Sought Occupation of Job Seekers, MK, May2013

Male / Female / Total
Claimants / % / Claimants / % / Claimants / %
Unknown / 110 / 3.1 / 105 / 5.2 / 215 / 3.8
Managers and Senior Officials / 165 / 4.6 / 70 / 3.5 / 235 / 4.2
Professional / 85 / 2.4 / 45 / 2.2 / 130 / 2.3
Associate Professional and Technical / 210 / 5.8 / 60 / 3.0 / 270 / 4.8
Administrative and Secretarial / 210 / 5.8 / 295 / 14.6 / 505 / 9.0
Skilled Trades / 320 / 8.9 / 10 / 0.5 / 330 / 5.9
Personal Service / 50 / 1.4 / 200 / 9.9 / 250 / 4.4
Sales and Customer Service / 885 / 24.6 / 845 / 41.8 / 1,730 / 30.8
Process, Plant and Machine Operatives / 350 / 9.7 / 25 / 1.2 / 380 / 6.8
Elementary / 1,215 / 33.8 / 365 / 18.1 / 1,580 / 28.1

Source: NOMIS

Previous Occupation of Job Seekers, MK, May, 2013

Male / Female / Total
Claimants / % / Claimants / % / Claimants / %
Unknown / 110 / 3.0 / 105 / 5.2 / 215 / 3.8
Managers and Senior Officials / 175 / 4.8 / 65 / 3.2 / 240 / 4.3
Professional / 95 / 2.6 / 40 / 2.0 / 135 / 2.4
Associate Professional and Technical / 195 / 5.4 / 65 / 3.2 / 260 / 4.6
Administrative and Secretarial / 245 / 6.8 / 305 / 15.2 / 550 / 9.8
Skilled Trades / 315 / 8.7 / 10 / 0.5 / 325 / 5.8
Personal Service / 55 / 1.5 / 210 / 10.4 / 265 / 4.7
Sales and Customer Service / 875 / 24.2 / 810 / 40.3 / 1,685 / 29.9
Process, Plant and Machine Operatives / 330 / 9.1 / 30 / 1.5 / 360 / 6.4
Elementary / 1,225 / 33.8 / 370 / 18.4 / 1,595 / 28.3

Source: NOMIS

Unemployment, MK, South East and UK, May 2003 to May2013

Source: NOMIS

Unemployment Rates by Gender, MK, SE and UKNovember 2011 to May 2013

Source: NOMIS

Ephraidge Rinomhota

Economic Development Team

(Milton KeynesCouncil 14/06/13)

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