Plymouth's jobless total is down for the seventh month in a row
PLYMOUTH'S jobless total has fallen for the seventh successive month, hitting a year low, latest figures show.
However, concerns have been raised the fall may be down to people taking part-time jobs because they could not find full-time work.
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'POSITIVE SIGNS': Mark Hoban
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows the number of unemployment claimants in the city dropped to 6,287 in September – down 203 on August.
This is down on the 7,035 recorded for September last year, and the 12-month high of 7,050 seen in February.
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But neighbouring areas bucked the downward trend. South Hams saw an increase in the number of people on Jobseekers Allowance, from 691 in August to 723 last month.
And in Cornwall the claimant count also rose from 8,630 to 8,673.
Responding to a further jobless fall in Plymouth, Oliver Colvile, Tory MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said: "This is reassuring, but what I am very concerned about is they are probably down because of the number of people working part-time.
"There's obviously been a big cultural change where people realise they need to remain in employment."
He added: "I am impressed with what the university and council have been doing to try and promote growth in the private sector."
Employment Minister Mark Hoban told The Herald: "We are seeing positive signs in these figures but we are not complacent about the challenges that we face."
For the South West latest figures showed employment grew in the quarter to August by 15,000 to 2,545,000, while nationally it rose by 212,000 to 29.59 million, the highest since records began in 1971.
Meanwhile, unemployment in the region remained unchanged in the quarter at 158,000 a rate of 5.8 per cent – the lowest in the UK.
Across the country it fell by 50,000 in the same period to 2.53 million, the lowest since the spring, giving a jobless rate of 7.9 per cent.
The ONS also reported that part-time employment increased by 125,000 between March and May to a record high of 8.13 million.
The number of people in part-time jobs because they could not find full-time work was close to a record high at 1.4 million.
Youth unemployment fell by 62,000 to 957,000, the lowest figure for over a year.
Comments
by John_Ply
Thursday, October 18 2012, 8:07PM
“What a breath of fresh air! At last, what I would regard an honest statement from a politician. I refer to Oliver Colville's statement here, Quote "This is reassuring, but what I am very concerned about is they are probably down because of the number of people working part-time". It is not hard to work out that if one million full-time workers lost their jobs tomorrow and one million PLUS ONE part-time workers gained employment at the same time, then the jobless total would show a net gain in employment of one. I suspect reporting the employment figures in this way, is done to appease the masses and in some try to give some good news. This would be a statement of fact, but it would purely reflect jobs lost and gained. Looking deeper at what is reflected around me with regard to business's opening and closing, I suspect that if these statements were subject to the trade description act, then many politicians would have been taken to task long ago.
To give the job statistics in this way is totally misleading and outdated. This method has been around since the days that most women stayed at home (no offence intended), looking after the home and children, when the vast majority of people worked full time to support a family. Since the number of people now working part-time has dramatically increased. In many cases, since there is a lack full time employment around, would not a fairer way be to work out the hours of employment gained, against hours lost and give the employment figures as, hours of employment gained or, hours of employment lost. For several years I have been of the opinion that employment figures are given, so as to be shown in the best light to the public. But with the high volume of people who want to work, gradually being forced into part-time work, this may eventually become as meaningless to the masses as it is to myself.
Since no figures are given separately regarding part-time and full time employment, logic dictates to me that the both are added together to give a net gain or loss. Knowing that part-time employment is rapidly rising the thought springs to mind regarding the way employment statistics are reported,
'You can fool some of the people, some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people, all of the time'.”