Jobless total bucks trend

Date published: 17/04/2008

Rochdale has gone against the national trend - by recording an increase in the number of people out of work in the borough.

The total rose by 139 during March to 4,008 - there are 3,002 men out of work, a rise of 111, and 1006 women, up 28, representing 3.1 per cent of Rochdale’s working population.

This is the second highest in Greater Manchester - behind only the city - and above the national average of 2.2 per cent.

Nationally, unemployment continued to fall and the number of people in work reached a record high.

The employment level was 29.5 million in the three months to February, the best since records began in 1971, while unemployment fell by 39,000 to 1.6 million.

The Office for National Statistics revised the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in February, which showed an increase of 600 instead of a previously reported fall of 2,800.

The change, following a routine annual review of seasonal adjustments, brought to an end 16 consecutive monthly falls in the claimant count. and was the first rise since September, 2006.

The jobseeker’s allowance total fell last month by 1,200 from the revised February figure to 794,300, the lowest figure since the summer of 1975.

Employment levels rose by 152,000 in the latest quarter and by 456,000 over the year.

Manufacturing jobs continue to be lost, down by 27,000 to 2.9 million in the three months to February - the lowest since records began in 1978.

There was brighter news on the number of job vacancies in the economy, which reached 687,600 last month, an increase of 52,000 over the year and the best since 2001.

The UK’s unemployment rate of 5 per cent is below the EU average of 6.7.