Chamber cautious over fall in unemployment

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Today’s (12 December) labour market release from the Office of National Statistics shows that unemployment has fallen nationally to 2.51m in the quarter to October and in the North West by 18,000 to 298,000.

The figures, however, show that the number of people in work during the quarter to October across the North West decreased by 24,000 to 3.156m and there was a rise of 39,000 in the number of people that are economically inactive, those not in work or seeking work.

Within Rochdale, the claimant count for Jobseeker’s Allowance was down by 164 to 7,218 in November.

Commenting on the release today, Dr Brian Sloan, Chief Economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce said: “The trend in the North West labour market is tracked closely by our own Quarterly Economic Survey and we have been warning that some of the positive trends in the labour market seen earlier in the year were weakening and the data released today does confirm these concerns.

“However, crucially we have just completed our Q4 survey that shows that as the year draws to a close, the trends are more positive. This is highlighted by the fall in the JSA count for Greater Manchester. Generally we are seeing better trading conditions as the year ends, in line with our expectations and business confidence is still strong, in spite of the headwinds that the economy faces. This is why current trends are more positive, but looking into the New Year there may be a rise in the JSA and unemployment numbers as temporary workers are released and public sector redundancies take place. This will hit business demand; however, in a low growth environment fortunes are mixed and there are still signs of encouragement.

“2013 will see the start of projects such as Port Salford, part of the development of the Manchester Ship Canal, that will enhance the competitive position of our region and generate spill-over economic activity. We must maximise the support and accelerate the development of key regional infrastructure projects that support business investment activity and create jobs.”