A new report, reported by the Manchester Evening News, shows that in one in four households in Manchester, no one has a job.
To officially qualify as workless a household has to have at least one adult, aged 16 – 64, but no adult living there employed. At 24.2 per cent, Manchester is significantly above the national average of 16.4 per cent. This news comes after a positive report in April this year suggesting unemployment in the North West had decreased by 20,000.
Manchester has the highest rate of unemployment in the Greater Manchester area, with Oldham a close second at 22 per cent and Tameside following with 20.8 per cent. Stockport shows a figure of 14.3 per cent, with Trafford standing at 14.1 per cent—both rates bellow the national average. Accurate figures could not be found for Salford, Rochdale or Wigan.
The data includes those actively seeking a job, students, and those unable to work because of a registered disability.
Areas of the North and Scotland were generally seen to have the highest number of workless households. Manchester is not the worst however, with Liverpool topping the table of household unemployment rates. It has nearly a third of homes workless, at 30.3 per cent. Wolverhampton at 28 per cent and Thanet in Kent at 27.7 per cent are second and third respectively.
Rounding off the top 10 are Burnley (27 per cent), Glasgow (26.6 per cent), Pendle (26.3 per cent), Hartlepool (26 per cent), Sunderland (26 per cent), West Dumbartonshire (25.7 per cent) and Blackpool (25.4 per cent).
Hertsmere in Hertfordshire had the lowest figure in the country at 2.4 per cent. Others with low rates of workless homes include Hambleton in North Yorkshire (4.9 per cent), Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire (5 per cent) and Eastleigh in Hampshire (5.1 per cent).
The national average is down from this time last year, falling slightly from 17.3 per cent to 16.4 per cent.
