Across the UK as a whole, unemployment reached a low point at the beginning of 2005, followed at first by a small rise and then a sharper increase during the 2008-2009 recession.
Most regions saw an increase in unemployment between 2005 and the start of the downturn, and all regions experienced increases in unemployment from its onset.
However in the three-year period leading up to the recession there were some differences across the UK.
In London there was a marginal fall between the start of 2005 and the onset of the recession, although it did also increase and then fall during this period.
As with most other regions, the South East and the South West had increases over the period but by the start of the recession the unemployment rates in these regions were similar to those in 2005.
In Scotland unemployment rates fell over the entire period, reaching a low going into the start of the UK recession.
The different regions therefore saw somewhat different pre-recession low points, and also different times at which it peaked during or after the recession.
The analysis therefore compares the trough-to-peak change for each region. This shows that the lowest increases were in the South East (2.7%), East (3.0%), London (3.2%) and the South West (3.5%).
The largest increases were in the West Midlands (6.1%) and Yorkshire and The Humber (5.3%).
The ONS analysis also looked at data on claimants of Job Seeker’s Allowance.
This shows that in the period since 2005, the local authorities with the highest claimant proportions were Kingston upon Hull (Yorkshire and The Humber) at 8.4% in January and February 2010, Wolverhampton (West Midlands) at 8.0% in January 2010; Blaenau Gwent (Wales) at 8.0% March and April 2009, and January 2010.
The claimant count data also include information on claimants’ usual occupations, which has enabled ONS to calculate claimant proportions for different job skill levels.
This shows that in general the lower the skill level, the higher the claimant proportion.
