• Unemployment fell from a peak of 3 million in 1993 (just under 11 per cent) to 1.5 million (around 5 per cent) in 2001. Since then there has been a further and more gradual decline, although towards the end of 2005 unemployment rose slightly. In the three months to September 2005, the unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent.
• In the three months to September 2005, the male unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent while the female rate was 4.2 per cent.
• In the three months to September 2005, the unemployment rate for those aged 16-17 was 22.4 per cent, compared with rates of 10.9 per cent for those aged 18-24, 3.4 per cent for those aged 25-49, and 2.9 per cent for those aged 50 and over.
• In the 12 months to November 2005, the lowest unemployment rates were for people of 'White' ethnic origin (4.4 per cent) and those of Indian origin (6.8 per cent). Unemployment rates were highest for people of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin (15.0 per cent).
• In the 12 months to November 2004, the unemployment rate among long-term disabled people was 7.2 per cent, down by 3.2 percentage points from five years earlier.
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Economic & Labour Market Review (ELMR) – February 2009