Unemployment
Unemployment at 5.1 per cent at end 2002
Unemployment, by gender, United Kingdom
The number of unemployed people fell from 2.9 million in 1993 to 1.5 million in October-December 2001. Unemployment rose slightly during 2002 until the July-September quarter, but then fell following stronger economic growth mid-year to a similar level as at the beginning of the year.
The overall picture was largely driven by male unemployment, which rose from 907,000 in October-December 2001 to 936,000 in July-September 2002 before falling back to 892,000 at the end of the year. Conversely, female unemployment took the opposite path, declining in the first quarter of 2002 before starting to rise. Overall, female unemployment increased by 12,000 during the year to 622,000.
Unemployment rate, United Kingdom
The unemployment rate followed a similar pattern to that for the number of unemployed people, and ended the year at 5.1 per cent. This was the same rate as at the beginning of the year but below the high of 5.3 per cent in July-September 2002.
There have been some small shifts in the age pattern of the unemployed. Rates rose for the younger (16 to 17 year olds) and older (50 years and over) groups over the year. Unemployment among 16 to 17 year olds in particular increased by 1.7 percentage points to 21.0 per cent. In comparison, unemployment among the 18 to 24 and 25 to 49 year-old age groups declined by 0.7 and 0.2 percentage points respectively. But these are small shifts and the general pattern remains unchanged, with the highest unemployment rates in the younger age groups.
There were also small shifts in the duration of unemployment as the numbers of medium and long-term unemployed decreased slightly. Overall, the numbers unemployed for more than six months fell by around 20,000, driven entirely by a fall in the numbers unemployed for over a year. In contrast, short-term (less than six months duration) unemployment rose by around 17,000.
Changes in unemployment during 2002 varied across the country. Five areas experienced a fall in unemployment, with the biggest decline (0.7 percentage points) occurring in London. There were also falls in Wales (0.6 percentage points), Scotland (0.6 percentage points), Northern Ireland (0.4 percentage points)and the North West of England (0.3 percentage points).
The largest increases in unemployment over the year were in the South East and South West of England, which increased by 0.6 and 0.4 percentage points respectively. The North East had the highest unemployment rate in 2002 at 7.5 per cent, while at 3.9 per cent, the East of England had the lowest rate.
Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics
Notes: Changes during 2002 compare October-December 2001 to October-December 2002.
Unemployment: the unemployed figures are based on ILO definitions. As well as being without work, the individual must be actively seeking work. In the case of the UK, the specific definition is that to be unemployed an individual must be: not in employment, wants a job, has actively sought work in the last 4 weeks and is available to start work within 2 weeks; or not in employment, but has found a job which will start within 2 weeks.
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