THE GREAT BRITISH JOB HUNT

DESPITE GLOOMY NATIONAL PROJECTIONS, MOST CONSTITUENCIES HAVE SEEN FALLING UNEMPLOYMENT

- By RICHARD AULT

UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen across large parts of the country during Labour's first year in office but London and areas of the South are falling behind.

In contrast to gloomy national projections, which show the UK unemployment rate at a four-year high, most parliamentary constituencies, particularly in the North, have seen falling numbers of people receiving unemployment benefits.

As of July, 1.71 million were unemployed and claiming benefits. That's 6,200 fewer than in June, and 71,500 fewer than in July 2024, when Labour took office.

However, it is still 465,500 more people on unemployment benefits than in March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the UK labour market.

The figures which use claimant counts to measure unemployment in local areas show the biggest overall decline was in the North East. There were also falling numbers of claimants in large parts of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West.