Positive job figures cap year of success for Chesterfield businesses
The number of people out of work and claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in Chesterfield fell again in November, according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics. In November, there were 876 JSA claimants , 46 fewer than in October (922) and 570 fewer than in November 2014 (1446). The current percentage of people claiming the benefit remains below the national average for a third month (1.4% for Chesterfield compared with 1.6% for the UK and 1.4% for the East Midlands).
The number of unemployed people in the East Midlands fell by 2,000 to 101,000 over the three months to the end of October, meaning that the region’s unemployment rate now stands at 4.3%.
The regional employment rate now stands at 74.2%, with the total number of people in employment over the three months rising by 65,000, to 2.23m
Scott Knowles, Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber, said: “It’s good to see the year being rounded off with another set of positive employment figures, which once again show that the region is at the front of the pack when it comes to creating jobs.
“Private sector businesses in the East Midlands have created jobs at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK over the past 18 months and although we’d expect this trend to continue into 2016, there are issues out there that could impact on job creation next year.
“Overall, the strength of the labour market remains an important driver of economic growth and the economy is continuing to expand at a decent pace. But that growth remains far too unbalanced.
“Firms that do business solely in the UK have so far been relatively well insulated from the international slowdown, but the longer that key overseas markets suffer malaise the greater the likelihood that we may start to see it impacting on the UK economic environment.
“We also have uncertainties around things like the EU referendum and the introduction of a new National Living Wage and we can’t yet fully appreciate what impact these might have on business.
“The substantial widening in the trade deficit is a warning sign that more needs to be done to fix the fundamentals that hinder productivity, exports and enterprise if we are to achieve growth that is both balanced and sustainable over the next year and beyond.”
