PRESS RELEASE
14 September 2011
‘Latest figures show cuts are beginning to bite, and they are biting hardest in the North’,
says leading think tank
In its latest review of labour market statistics, Centre for Cities argues that the public sector job cuts are finally beginning to bite. And almost 75% of these job losses are in the North and Midlands. Figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) today show that public sector employment fell by 111,000 between March and June to reach 6.04 million – the largest fall in public sector employment since comparable records began in 1999.
Over the last year, the regional workforce job statistics show that Yorkshire and the Humber, North West, North East and the West and East Midlands regions have lost a total of over 175,000 public sector jobs, with an additional 40,000 job losses in the East of England. Meanwhile London, the South East and the devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales have seen the number of public sector jobs rise.
Region |
Change in public sector employment, June 2010 to June 2011 |
% change in public sector employment, June 2010 to June 2011 |
Change in private sector employment, June 2010 to June 2011 |
% change in private sector employment, June 2010 to June 2011 |
Yorkshire and The Humber |
-46600 |
-6.4 |
8,200 |
0.5 |
North West |
-41400 |
-4.3 |
3,400 |
0.1 |
East |
-39600 |
-5.4 |
6,900 |
0.3 |
North East |
-32600 |
-8.2 |
-8,200 |
-1.1 |
East Midlands |
-31600 |
-5.5 |
66,500 |
4.2 |
West Midlands |
-26100 |
-3.7 |
-13,500 |
-0.7 |
South West |
-21800 |
-3.0 |
-21,700 |
-1.1 |
Northern Ireland |
-3500 |
-1.3 |
4,600 |
0.8 |
London |
8900 |
0.8 |
19,200 |
0.5 |
South East |
25600 |
2.2 |
65,300 |
2.1 |
Wales |
35800 |
8.7 |
-35,000 |
-3.7 |
Scotland |
64600 |
9.0 |
-27,800 |
-1.5 |
Source: NOMIS, Workforce Job Statistics, 2011
ONS data shows that the private sector has created 41,000 jobs over this quarter – this is an economy-wide reduction of 70,000 jobs in three months. Centre for Cities argues that this shows that currently, the private sector is struggling to create jobs at the rate required to offset the private sector jobs lost during the recession and to cover shrinkage in the public sector. The table above shows that some regions – the West Midlands, Wales and the South West and Scotland in particular – are continuing to see falls in private sector jobs.
But as research shows, the impact of public sector job cuts is not being felt evenly across UK cities. In January this year, Centre for Cities warned of the impact of public sector job cuts on those cities heavily reliant on the public sector, such as Plymouth and Liverpool. In its annual report on the performance of UK cities, Cities Outlook 2011, the Centre warned that places with weaker private sector economies, where public sector jobs make up more than 30% of local jobs provision, will be particularly vulnerable as the cuts start to fall.*
Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, Joanna Averley said: “In those places that are highly reliant on the public sector, the impact of the cuts will be felt hardest. This is now playing out in North and East of the country, where the economies of their cities are more public sector dependent.
“Cities that are more affected should focus on re-training and re-employment initiatives which support people back to work in the private sector. In the long term, these cities will need a realistic action plan which builds the conditions needed for private sector investment.”
ENDS.
* Cities with highest public sector employment (data taken from Cities Outlook 2011)
Calibrated to 330,000 public sector job losses at UK level (to 2014) |
|||
PUA | Level | % of all jobs | |
1 |
Newport |
-2200 |
-2.9% |
2 |
Swansea |
-3000 |
-2.9% |
3 |
Plymouth |
-2500 |
-2.3% |
4 |
Liverpool |
-7900 |
-2.3% |
5 |
Portsmouth |
-4400 |
-2.1% |
6 |
Stoke |
–3100 |
-2.1% |
7 |
Sunderland |
-2500 |
-2.1% |
8 |
Dundee |
–1500 |
-2.1% |
9 |
Middlesbrough |
–3700 |
-2.1% |
10 |
Hull |
–2300 |
-2.0% |
For more information, please contact:
Rachel Tooby, External Affairs Manager, Centre for Cities
020 7803 4316 / 07748 183 026 r.tooby@centreforcities.org