UK Jobless Eases (Just) For The Second Straight Month

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, a little joy was to be found in the official unemployment statistics which revealed that the jobless total had dropped by a further 3000 people to 2.46 million or 7.8% of the workforce. UK unemployment statistics can provide a complex and confusing picture as they are collated in various different ways to show the data.

Whilst more jobs were created than lost in the most recent reporting period, there were substantial regional variations. 12000 jobs were lost in the prosperous south-east of England whereas 16000 were created in the West Midlands.

Regional unemployment (based on parliamentary constituency boundaries) varies across the UK from below 2% (Dorset in Southern England and West Aberdeenshire in Scotland for example) to 11.5% (Birmingham Ladywood, England).