The number of unemployed people increased slightly in the fourth quarter of 2003 with the bulk of job losses concentrated in the south and east, according to the latest quarterly national household survey released today.
The survey which is acknowledged as the most reliable measure of unemployment shows there were 86,500 persons unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2003, representing an annual increase of 2,400 on the fourth quarter of 2002.
All of the annual growth in unemployment was concentrated in the southern and eastern regions where there was an increase of 2,600 in the numbers unemployed in the year.
The underlying trend emerging from the survey is that employment conditions are improving after the downturn. When set against the rising number of people in employment, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell back to 4.6 per cent in the fourth quarter from 4.9 per cent in the previous three- month period.
On average, employment increased by 31,400 or 1.8 per cent last year. This compares with average annual increases of 1.4 per cent in 2002, 2.9 per cent in 2001 and 4.7 per cent in 2000. The average number of females in employment in 2003 was 18,000 (+2.4 per cent) higher than in the previous year while the average number of male workers was up by 13,300 (+1.3 per cent).
Employment growth in the fourth quarter was considerably stronger than in earlier quarters with the numbers at work increasing by 44,600 or 2.5 per cent in the year.
Long-term unemployment increased over the year by 1,100 with short-term unemployment increasing by 1,200 over the same period. The increase in long term unemployment was concentrated in the 25 to 44 year age group in contrast to the trend in short-term unemployment where the growth is concentrated in the under 25s.
The long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged in the fourth quarter at 1.4 per cent.