Simon Burns MP expresses concern at significant drop in notified job vacancies in Chelmsford: ePolitix.com

Simon Burns MP expresses concern at significant drop in notified job vacancies in Chelmsford

26 March 2009

Commenting on the Parliamentary Written Answer he has received, Simon Burns MP said:

“Not only has unemployment doubled in Chelmsford over the last twelve months but equally worrying the number of job vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus has dropped significantly.

“This not only highlights the problems we have with unemployment in Chelmsford but it also reinforces the underlying weakness of the economy because the significant drop in job vacancies means that the opportunities for the unemployed to find alternative employment is restricted.

“I accept that not all job vacancies are notified to Jobcentre Plus but notwithstanding that, the prognosis for an improvement in unemployment levels in Chelmsford in the immediate future is dire.”

Notes to Editors

25 Mar 2009 : Column 468W

Vacancies: Chelmsford

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies were notified to Jobcentre Plus branches in (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) the Chelmsford local authority area in each of the last 12 months.
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 9 March 2009]: The information is in the following table.

Vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus in West Chelmsford constituency and Chelmsford local authority area


Date	West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency	Chelmsford local authority	West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency	Chelmsford local authority
	Live unfilled vacancies		Notified vacancies
February 2008	1,050	1,124	1,231	1,345
March 2008	1,020	1,148	915	1,029
April 2008	851	956	842	930
May 2008	857	991	938	1,052
June 2008	860	1,045	1,010	1,195
July 2008	1,399	1,524	1,273	1,339
August 2008	1,014	1,087	1,121	1,246
September 2008	748	867	721	841
October 2008	954	1,088	1,009	1,092
November 2008	1,132	1,257	1,142	1,256
December 2008	752	808	477	522
January 2009	312	365	298	331
Notes: 1. Data are unrounded. 2. Changes to Jobcentre Plus vacancy handling procedures have led to a major discontinuity in the vacancy statistics pre and post May 2006. Consequently, care should be taken in interpreting time-series data. 3. These are not whole economy figures. Coverage relates just to vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus and as such represent a market share of vacancies throughout the whole economy. This proportion varies over time, according to the occupation of the vacancy and industry of the employer, and by local area. Comprehensive estimates of all job vacancies (not just those notified to Jobcentre Plus) are available from the monthly ONS Vacancy Survey since April 2001, based on a sample of some 6,000 enterprises. However, the ONS survey is currently designed to provide national estimates only. 4. Notified vacancies. Monthly data on the inflow of newly notified vacancies to Jobcentre Plus. 5. The stocks of Live unfilled vacancies reflect more accurately job opportunities available via Jobcentre Plus. In the case of unfilled vacancies, use of the figures on live vacancies is recommended (i.e. excluding suspended vacancies), and this is the default option. Live vacancies may still include some vacancies which have already been filled or are otherwise no longer open. 6. To provide a geographic breakdown, in most cases the postcode of the vacancy is used to allocate the vacancy to a local area. Where this is missing or invalid, the employers' postcode or the postcode of the local Jobcentre Plus office is used. 7. These figures are published at www.nomisweb.co.uk 8. Parliamentary constituencies and local authority areas are often a poor match for local labour markets. The number and range of jobs available to people within normal travel to work distances often extend well beyond immediate constituency and local authority boundaries. Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System