Vast local differences in impact of recession revealed by new report

12 June 2009

The recession has hit blue collar workers in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and South Wales whereas London and the South East have been hit much harder by white collar job losses, according to new research published today.

The research by the Local Government Association shows that blue collar workers have lost the largest number of jobs over the course of the last twelve months, but white collar job losses are rising at a quicker rate.

The number of ‘elementary’ and skilled trade workers seeking JSA has risen by 77% over the last 12 months, from 332,400 to 589,000;

The number of managers and professionals seeking Jobseekers' Allowance has risen by 154% over the last 12 months, from 46,700 to 118,700;

Areas experiencing the biggest increase in JSA claimants from 'elementary' occupations, such as cleaners, catering assistants and labourers, are concentrated in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and south Wales - although the largest increases were recorded in Corby and Swindon;

The biggest increases for claimants from skilled trades work were in the West Midlands, south Yorkshire and the Mersey-Manchester corridor;

The areas with the biggest increases in manager claimants are in the South East and West Midlands;

The largest increases in professional claimants are concentrated in London.

However, a national or regional overview masks significant local differences, which can often see neighbouring areas performing very differently.

The LGA is warning that a national, blanket policy to stimulate economic recovery doesn’t work because each area of the country has been affected markedly differently by the recession. Town halls are calling for as many economic decisions as possible to be taken at a local level to ensure that local solutions can be found to local problems.

Councils are working hard to minimise the impact of the downturn on people and businesses and to retrain people who have become unemployed. As major employers, purchasers and providers, councils are best placed to kickstart the local economy and help people in need.

Sir Jeremy Beecham, Vice-Chairman of the LGA, said:

"The analysis clearly shows that different parts of the country are being affected by the recession in very different ways - even within individual regions there are marked differences as to how local areas are faring.

"A national, one size fits all approach to dealing with the recession simply isn’t going to work. The fastest way to move from recession to recovery is for more decisions about the economy to be taken at the local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses.

"The needs of leafy middle class suburbs are poles apart from the action that needs to be taken in more deprived inner city areas. An unemployed factory worker from Barnsley or Birmingham needs to be retrained very differently from a City financial analyst.

"Whilst the North of the country and the Midlands has borne the brunt of blue collar job losses, it’s the South that has seen a sharp rise in the number of managerial and professional job losses.

"The analysis confirms that white collar workers are by no means safe from job cuts and that increasing numbers of them are being forced onto Job Seekers’ Allowance. It can often be the case that blue collar workers find fewer opportunities to retrain and that they can take longer to get back into employment.

"Moves in the budget to allow councils to bid for a £1bn job creation fund were encouraging. The government recognised that it is councils that are the key to creating jobs both in the public and private sectors. However, with greater freedoms over transport, infrastructure, planning, economic development and skills, councils would be able to do even more for local people.

"Local government is doing its bit to help local economies. The LGA has committed to working with local authorities to increase the number of council apprenticeships by 7,500. Councils will also use funding from the break-up of the Learning and Skills Council to tailor training for young people and to encourage them to stay in education if it is right for them.”

ENDS

---

Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to ePolitix.com. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the ePolitix.com service.

As such, ePolitix.com does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.