'Challenging market for jobseekers' - 3,600 people in borough out of work

The number of jobless people in South Tyneside was higher than both the national and regional average last year, official figures show.

- by Gazette Reporter

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show some 3,600 people-5.6% of the borough's 64,815 economically active people were unemployed in the year to June.

This was higher than the average across the North East where 4.4% of people able to work were unemployed, and the UK rate of four per cent.

The data also shows that the jobless figure nationally continues to vary greatly across regions-falling to just 1.9% in Northern Ireland-and, nationally, increasing from 3.7% in the year to June 2024.

Meanwhile the employment rate remained unchanged, at 75.4%, while varying area to area - ranging from 78.8% in the South West to 70.3% in the North East, the lowest in the country.

In South Tyneside, 61,215 of the working-age population were in employment in the year to June-64.1%