London labour market update for London – January 2017

London’s employment rate rises to another record high

London’s employment rate (i.e. the proportion of London’s resident working age population in employment) in the three months to November 2016 increased by 0.4 percentage points on the previous quarter to 73.8 per cent (up 0.9 percentage points on a year earlier). This is the highest rate of employment recorded in London since this measure began in 1992. Whilst unchanged this month the number of workforce jobs in London (i.e. the number of jobs located in London, whether or not they are taken by residents of London), reached 5.73 million in Q3 2016, down very slightly from the previous quarter (which represents the peak since this measure began in 1996) – up 103,000 (or 1.8 per cent) over the year.

London’s ILO unemployment rate in the three months to November 2016 was 5.6 per cent. This is down 0.6 percentage points on the previous quarter and down 0.6 percentage points on the previous year. The timelier claimant count showed another very slight increase in the numbers claiming unemployment related benefits in December 2016. This shows that claimant unemployment has been rising (albeit very slowly) since February 2016. The claimant unemployment rate was, however, unchanged on the previous month at 2.1 per cent (up 0.1 percentage point on the year).

*All figures are seasonally adjusted. Rates are based on working age (16 – 64 male and female), with the exception of unemployment rate which is age 16 and above.

** The labour market release headline measure of the Claimant Count includes some claimants of Universal Credit as well as JSA claimants. These Universal Credit estimates are still being developed by DWP. The ONS have therefore decided that the Claimant Count estimates including Universal Credit will continue to be designated as experimental statistics even though they are now the headline measure.

Employment and Unemployment rate