Unemployment, as measured by claimants receiving Jobseekers or Universal Credit who are seeking work, in Ludlow dropped between September and October. Our town had 365 claimants in October, down 11 per cent on September. That means 45 more people in work or more correctly 45 fewer people claiming benefits.
Although unemployment is still more than double the rate it was a year ago, this welcome fall shows that businesses have adapted their ways of working, their ways of procuring and their ways of delivering during the ongoing epidemic.
The second lockdown began a week ago. The biggest impact of Lockdown 2 is likely to be in the hospitality sector and visitor economy. We will see evidence of which way the trend is going on 15 November. But for now, we have some good news.
This is the fourth of a monthly series on unemployment data.
Unemployment in Ludlow is running at 6% of the workforce. That’s down from 6.9% in August but still much higher than the 2.6% in October 2019. The unemployment rate remains higher than Shropshire but lower than the West Midlands. Ludlow North unemployment remains high at just under seven per cent.
Around 40 per cent of people claiming unemployment related benefits in Ludlow are women.