Unemployment in Devon lower than last year despite slight rise in last month

The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) in Devon has risen slightly over the past month, in line with the usual trend seen at this time of the year.

The claimant count across the county was up by 24 from 9,818 in January to 9,842 in February.

Even though the Devon figures reflect the national trend, the month on month increase of 0.2% has occurred at a slower rate in Devon compared to the UK (2%). The claimant count in Devon stands at 2.2% of the working age population, which remains below the national figure of 3.9%.

The increase is also considerably lower than the same period last year, when the number of people claiming JSA increased by 3.1%, or 336 claimants.

Year on year the number of people claiming JSA in Devon has fallen by 1,473 claimants or 13%, which is reducing at a faster rate than the national average of 4.3% over the year.

Youth unemployment in Devon rose from 2,815 in January to 2,920 in February, which is also in line with the national picture. The number of people aged 24 and under claiming JSA in Devon accounts for 29.7% of total claimants in the county which is slightly higher than nationally (27.2%).

However, youth unemployment in Devon has reduced by 800 claimants, which is 21.5% lower than in February 2012 when it stood at 3,720, and over the course of the year it is also falling at a faster rate in Devon than the UK average of 13.7%.

Devon County Council Leader John Hart said: “The latest rise of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance at the start of the year was to be expected due to the reduction in seasonal employment after Christmas.

"Despite this small increase, the number of claimants across Devon continues to fall and, encouragingly, it is considerably lower than this time last year.

"In what continues to be difficult economic times, Devon’s labour market is showing that it is resilient, and what is particularly positive is the significant fall in youth unemployment compared with this time last year - a trend which we hope continues in 2013.”

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