Press Story

Analysis of the latest jobless figures by the think tank IPPR North, show an imbalance between the employment prospects in the South and the North. They show:

North East - Unemployment up by 4,000 to 127,000 on previous quarter
Yorkshire & the Humber - Unemployment up by 3,000 to 246,000
North West - Unemployment up by 3,000 to 301,000
London - Unemployment down by 17,000 to 365,000

Over the last year, while unemployment has fallen, there is a clear north/south divide:

North East - Unemployment down by 12,000 to 127,000 on previous year
Yorkshire & the Humber - Unemployment down by 15,000 to 246,000
North West - Unemployment down by 19,000 to 301,000
London - Unemployment down by 53,000 to 365,000

IPPR North director, Ed Cox, says:

"The rise in unemployment in northern regions make it clear that we are a long way off any sense of recovery outside London and yet there is such potential in Northern towns and cities. Budget announcements about regional growth and infrastructure investment are too little too late. We need a much more comprehensive and rapid response to the Heseltine and Northern Economic Futures Commission reports starting April 2013 not April 2015."

Notes to Editors

Today's unemployment figures are available from: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/march-2013/index.html

Contact

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Tim Finch, 07595 920899, t.finch@ippr.org