Unemployment: Kent
Cabinet Office
Written answers and statements, 9 September 2009
Michael Howard (Folkestone & Hythe, Conservative)
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office
(1) what the (a) rate and (b) percentage of youth unemployment in Folkestone and Hythe constituency has been in each quarter since January 2005;
(2) what the (a) rate and (b) percentage of economic inactivity in Folkestone and Hythe constituency has been in each quarter since January 2005.
Angela Smith (Minister of State (Third Sector), Cabinet Office; Basildon, Labour)
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking what the (a) rate and (b) percentage of youth unemployment in Folkestone and Hythe constituency was in each quarter from January 2005 to date; and what the (a) rate and (b) percentage of economic inactivity in Folkestone and Hythe constituency was in each quarter from January 2005 to date. (290872 and 290873)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment and inactivity statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
However, estimates of unemployment of 18-24 year olds resident in the Folkestone and Hythe constituency are not available. As an alternative in Table 1 we have provided the number and percentage of 18-24 year olds claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in each month since January 2005.
Table 2 shows the number and percentage of persons of working age who were economically inactive resident in the Folkestone and Hythe parliamentary constituency. The latest period for which data are available is January 2008 to December 2008.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
| Table 1: Number and percentage of persons aged 18-24 claiming jobseeker's allowance resident in the Folkestone and Hythe constituency | ||
| Number( 1) | Percentage( 2) | |
| January 2005 | 420 | 5.6 |
| February 2005 | 450 | 6.0 |
| March 2005 | 475 | 6.4 |
| April 2005 | 470 | 6.3 |
| May 2005 | 420 | 5.6 |
| June 2005 | 400 | 5.4 |
| July 2005 | 390 | 5.3 |
| August 2005 | 395 | 5.3 |
| September 2005 | 430 | 5.8 |
| October 2005 | 405 | 5.5 |
| November 2005 | 400 | 5.4 |
| December 2005 | 425 | 5.7 |
| January 2006 | 440 | 6.0 |
| February 2006 | 495 | 6.7 |
| March 2006 | 480 | 6.5 |
| April 2006 | 465 | 6.3 |
| May 2006 | 470 | 6.3 |
| June 2006 | 480 | 6.5 |
| July 2006 | 485 | 6.6 |
| August 2006 | 470 | 6.3 |
| September 2006 | 490 | 6.6 |
| October 2006 | 500 | 6.7 |
| November 2006 | 480 | 6.5 |
| December 2006 | 495 | 6.7 |
| January 2007 | 500 | 6.7 |
| February 2007 | 515 | 6.9 |
| March 2007 | 525 | 7.1 |
| April 2007 | 510 | 6.9 |
| May 2007 | 490 | 6.6 |
| June 2007 | 445 | 6.0 |
| July 2007 | 465 | 6.3 |
| August 2007 | 470 | 6.4 |
| September 2007 | 425 | 5.8 |
| October 2007 | 400 | 5.4 |
| November 2007 | 360 | 4.9 |
| December 2007 | 355 | 4.8 |
| January 2008 | 365 | 4.9 |
| February 2008 | 390 | 5.3 |
| March 2008 | 385 | 5.2 |
| April 2008 | 390 | 5.3 |
| May 2008 | 400 | 5.4 |
| June 2008 | 375 | 5.1 |
| July 2008 | 365 | 4.9 |
| August 2008 | 400 | 5.4 |
| September 2008 | 415 | 5.6 |
| October 2008 | 445 | 6.0 |
| November 2008 | 495 | 6.7 |
| December 2008 | 545 | 7.3 |
| January 2009 | 615 | 8.3 |
| February 2009 | 695 | 9.4 |
| March 2009 | 720 | 9.7 |
| April 2009 | 695 | 9.4 |
| May 2009 | 655 | 8.9 |
| June 2009 | 620 | 8.4 |
| July 2009 | 595 | 8.0 |
| (1) Figures rounded to nearest five (2) Percentages are calculated using mid-2005 18-24 year old population estimates Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative sources | ||
| Table 2: Number and percentage of economically inactive persons of working age( 1) resident in the Folkestone and Hythe constituency | ||
| Number (thousand) | Percentage | |
| 12 months ending | ||
| December 2005 | 13 | 22.5 |
| March 2006 | 13 | 22.1 |
| June 2006 | 12 | 21.2 |
| September 2006 | 12 | 21.1 |
| December 2006 | 11 | 20.0 |
| March 2007 | 10 | 17.8 |
| June 2007 | 12 | 21.0 |
| September 2007 | 11 | 19.2 |
| December 2007 | 9 | 16.2 |
| March 2008 | 10 | 17.0 |
| June 2008 | 8 | 14.8 |
| September 2008 | 10 | 17.9 |
| December 2008(2) | ***12 | 20.8 |
| (1) Working age is defined as Males aged 16-64, Females aged 16-59 (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV[le] 5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV [le] 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV [le] 20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Annual Population Survey | ||