Here is the latest regional data and trends for a number of core indicators of the health of London's labour market. You can also download a wider set of data with additional indicators for your own use, or compare London's performance against other regions using our Benchmarker.
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London labour market update from GLA Economics
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The latest data on London’s labour market was mixed.
- The unemployment rate in London stayed at 10.1%.
- Jobseeker’s Allowance benefit claims fell, while the London lone parent proportion of JSA claims rose to 10.2%, still the highest of all regions.
- London’s employment dropped. 3.81 million Londoners are now in employment, a 13,000 quarterly fall.
- London’s employment rate fell while the national rate rose, increasing the gap.
- London job numbers as recorded by employers fell back slightly, but remains close to pre-recession levels, unlike the national figures.
- More than a quarter of all working age Londoners are economically inactive – 1.396 million people.
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Working age employment rate (%)
In the three months to March 2012, London's employment rate was 67.2%, 3.3 percentage points below the UK rate (70.5%).
The London rate was 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous quarter whilst the national rate rose by 0.2 percentage points.
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Working age male employment rate (%)
In the quarter to March 2012, the employment rate of working age men in London was 73.8% , which is 1.8 percentage points lower than the rate for the UK (75.6%).
In London, the male employment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter while the national rate increased by 0.3 percentage points over the same period.
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Working age female employment rate (%)
In the quarter to March 2012, the employment rate of working age females went down (1 percentage point) in London and now stands at 60.5% compared to 61.5% in the previous quarter .
The London rate is 5 percentage points lower than the UK rate and remains substantially wider than the average 2.3 percentage point gap in the 1990s.
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Working age economic inactivity (%)
In the three months to March 2012, 25.2% of all working age Londoners were economically inactive, 2.2 percentage points higher than the national average (23.0%). In London, the inactivity rate increased by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, while the national rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points.
Approximately one-third of Londoners who are economically inactive are students, with a further third recorded as looking after the family or home.
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Index of workforce jobs
In the 4th quarter of 2011 (Oct-Dec), there were 4.96 million workforce jobs in London.
The Index of workforce jobs tracks changes in the number of jobs available in London and the UK. The number of jobs peaked in the fourth quarter (Oct-Dec) of 2008 in London.
London had seen an improvement in the number of jobs since the first quarter of 2011, however the latest figures show a small drop in London while National figures show a small rise over the last two quarters.
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ILO unemployment rate 16+ (%)
In the three months to March 2012, the ILO unemployment rate in London went up by 0.1 percentage points to 10.1%, compared to the previous quarter. The London rate is 1.9 percentage points higher than the UK rate of 8.2%.
There are currently 426,000 people aged 16 and over who are unemployed in London, on the international standard measure.
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Claimant Count as a proportion of the working age population (%)
In April 2012, there were 229,800 people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in London and 1,590,300 in the UK. The proportion of London's resident working age population claiming JSA was 4.3%, the same as the previous month. The equivalent proportion in the UK was 3.9%, a difference of 0.4 percentage points.
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Proportion of 16-24 year olds who are NEET (%)
In the 4th quarter of 2011, there were 128,000 16-24 year olds who were recorded as not in employment, education or training (NEET) in London. This is equivalent to 14.6 per cent of all 16 to 24 year olds in London - compared to 15.9 per cent nationally. This fall since the last quarter is in line with previous seasonal falls.
The proportion of young people who are NEET tends to be lower in London than in England.
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Skill gaps in the current workforce reported by employers (%)
The latest National Employer Skills Survey, published in March 2010, shows that slightly more London employers reported a skills gap in their workforce in 2009 than in 2007 (17.2% compared to 17% respectively).
In 2009, skills gaps were greater in England as a whole than in London, with 19% of employers reporting gaps in England as a whole compared to 17.2% in London.
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Achievement of 5 or more A*- C grades at GCSE or equivalent
Between the 2008/09 and 2010/11 school years, the proportion of young people achieving 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C (including English and Maths) increased significantly in London, from 54% to 61.9%. GCSE attainment rates also increased for England as a whole, but at a much slower rate.
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Proportion of working age population who claim out of work benefits (%)
In November 2011, there were 677,440 people of working age in London claiming out of work benefits. This was equivalent to 12.6% of all working age Londoners, compared to 12.2% in Great Britain as a whole.
The pattern has been broadly similar to Great Britain's until 2010, when rates in Great Britain started falling at a faster rate when compared to London rates. However, there was a narrowing of the gap before the last two quarters saw another divergence.
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Proportion of the working age population qualified to NVQ4+ (%)
In 2010, the proportion of working age people qualified to NVQ Level 4 and above was 41.9% in London compared to 31.2% in the UK. In both London and the UK, the proportion of highly qualified people has risen steadily since 2006. The difference between these proportions in London and the UK has been widening for the last 5 years.
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Proportion of the working age population with no qualifications (%)
In 2010, the percentage of working age people with no qualifications was 9.9% in London and 11.6% in the UK. These rates have been on a steady decline since 2006 for both London and the UK as a whole, and the difference between them has remained similar over the last 5 years.
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Children living in workless households (%)
In 2010, 22.1% of children in London were living in workless households - equivalent to 343,000 children. For the UK, the proportion of children living in workless households was 16.5% for the same period. The rate for London saw an increase from 2009, after falling since 2004. Nationally the rate has seen a slight rise in 2009 and 2010 but is broadly flat.
