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North East jobs figures confirm employment is getting back on track

Richard Baker, North East Local Enterprise Partnership Head of Strategy and Policy, said today’s Office for National Statistics employment data confirmed employment was growing again in the region.

Increasing employment, and falling numbers of people out of work in the North East revealed in the latest quarter’s statistics, matched the longer term national trend of a steady improvement in the jobs picture.

These are positive signs. These latest figures confirm our employment position getting back on track after a difficult final quarter in 2016.

The statistics also show that 29,000 more people are in full-time work across the North East region, with the number of people in part-time work falling by 10,000 over the same period to the end of last year.

Importantly, over the last year there has also been a drop in the number of people reporting that they are taking part-time employment because they can’t find a full-time job.

We recognise that for many people, part-time work is the ideal fit for their lifestyle and circumstances.

But to see more people who want full time work being able to find it is encouraging

Economic inactivity remains a stubborn problem for the North East economy affecting our employment rate. We identify this in the Strategic Economic Plan and are working hard to tackle with our partners by giving people the skills and confidence they need to enter or re-enter the jobs market.