Rise in employment limited to London and the South East

20 January 2014

A report by the TUC has shown that the chances of getting a job in the North East, North West, West Midlands and South West have decreased ever since 2010. According to the report, any recovery in employment is skewed to London and the South East of Britain.

This consequentially impacts on the ever growing divide between the North and South of Britain in terms of income, wealth and property prices.

Since the last general elections there are 780,000 more employed workers and a one percent rise in the likelihood of finding employment. However, despite claims of success from the Conservatives, it is clear that not all of Britain is benefiting from this ‘jobs growth’.

For example, the West Midlands is an area of the country that has witnessed a strong pickup in jobs during the last year. However, over a longer time period it has suffered, resulting in fewer jobs for the local population than 20 years ago. And it is important to state that 20 years ago Britain was just coming out of recession.

However positive a rise in employment may seem, it needs to be spread throughout Britain and not leave out areas like the North East, North West, West Midlands and Southwest.

The IER as well as the TUC wants to see an even spread of employment rising through-out England, rather than it being limited to certain parts of England, as these statistics have shown.

Despite the rise in London and the South East, there has been a 0.8% drop in employment in the West Midlands and a 0.7% drop in the North East.

The North West is also suffering from this divide as, according to the research, there has been a 0.7% drop in employment since 2010.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Britain’s growing population has meant record levels of employment for much of the last two decades. But despite the return of growth the chance of having a job has actually fallen in much of England since 2010.

“The City of London may have caused the crash but the capital’s job market has been the most resilient over the last five years. Instead, areas like the West Midlands have borne the brunt of recession, with people’s chances of being in work barely any better today than they were after the last recession in the early ‘90s.

“Whilst it’s great that jobs are being created in London and the South East, stronger job creation is needed throughout the country. We need more well-paid jobs, as well as better wage rises for those already in work, if the UK’s 30 million strong workforce is to get a fair share of the benefits of recovery.”