LATEST figures show a quarter of people in Bradford are out of work and have not recently been searching for a job.
The numbers have been described as “disappointing but unsurprising” by a spokesperson for the Bradford Chamber of Commerce.
Estimates from the Office for National Statistics show 85,229 people aged 16 to 64 in the city were classed as “economically inactive” as of March 2023. This was the equivalent of 25.6 per cent of people in that age bracket in the area – up from 23.2 per cent a year before.
The figures further show 22,236 were claiming unemployment-related benefits in Bradford – which includes Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance. This gives the area a claimant rate of 6.6 per cent.
The Bradford Chamber of Commerce spokesperson said: “We know that there are far fewer people in the labour pool than there was pre-Covid, but given that Bradford has historically had a more difficult challenge in this area, then the latest figures are disappointing but unsurprising.
“That said, there are increasingly attractive opportunities out there right now and lots of good work is also underway to match people of all ages to those opportunities.
“For example, Bradford’s Employment & Skills Board is currently reviewing its strategy and actions with all relevant partners involved; changes to Universal Credit criteria have also been introduced too, and we’re helping to spread the word to business about that.
“It’s no easy task to just increase the economically active percentage of local people, and so we need to continue working hard with stakeholders to do just that.”
Bradford Council highlighted how it is trying to get residents back into employment.
Councillor Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for education, employment and skills, said: “One of our priorities as a council is to support people into work. A key way that we do this is through the SkillsHouse partnership.
“SkillsHouse is a collaboration of organisations across the Bradford District that works with people of all ages, supporting and inspiring them to get into work and training, and helping them to overcome a wide range of barriers they might have to reaching their potential.
“It also works with employers to help them source talent locally.
“SkillsHouse worked with almost 37,000 residents from June 2022 to June 2023.
“There are many different reasons people are economically inactive. Many are raising children, caring for family or have health issues so we also work to support employers with flexible working practices that can make it easier for people facing these issues to find roles that match their personal circumstances.
“We want all our communities to benefit from economic opportunities and are committed to supporting people who are economically inactive get into the workforce. “Anyone needing advice and support should get in touch with SkillsHouse through their website.”
Nationally, the figures have shown unemployment has increased, while rising wages have been eaten up by inflation.
Latest estimates suggest around 2.5 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness as of June – up 400,000 from before the coronavirus pandemic.
The ONS said regular pay growth, which excludes bonuses, reached 7.8 per cent in June.
“This is the highest regular annual growth rate we have seen since comparable records began in 2001,” a spokesperson said.
But inflation ate away all this growth – with Consumer Prices Index inflation taken into account, pay actually dropped by 0.6 per cent.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “These figures confirm once again that the Tories are failing working people and businesses across Britain.
“Families are struggling to get by, there are record numbers of people out of work due to long-term sickness, and the employment rate for over-50s is still below pre-pandemic levels – yet Tory ministers have no solutions to get people back to work.”
The Liberal Democrats also said this data will be “cold comfort” to hard-up families.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Thanks to the action we’ve taken in the jobs market, it’s great to see a record number of employees.”
“Our ambitious reforms will make work pay and help even more people into work – including by expanding free childcare next year – helping to deliver on our priority to grow the economy,” he added.
