(Photography credits to Kirklees Council)
Statistics was released yesterday by Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that there has been an increase in the UK unemployment rate.
People ages 16 and over who are unemployed was shown to be at 4.3% between January and March, which has been an increase in the latest quarter.
Job offers in the UK also dropped by 26,000 to 898,000 vaccines between February and April. This also results in more people applying for the same jobs due to the lack of jobs there.
The ONS spoke on this, saying: “Although this ratio remains low by historical standards, it does demonstrate a slight easing in the labour market, with vacancies falling alongside rising unemployment.”
In Kirklees, at the end of December of 2023, 3.9% of people aged 16 and over were unemployed.
“Its terrible what’s happening, all the stores in town are closing and jobs are harder to apply for. How does the government expect anyone to get a job?” said by Huddersfield local.
A student of University of Huddersfield named Jasmine told her story on unemployment.
“I’ve been applying for jobs for almost a year. I’ve only gotten 2 interviews within that time span.”
She continued to tell us about a time where she thought she almost got a job at a supermarket.
“I was told I was the perfect candidate and my work availability was amazing. I thought I was going to get a job. I was so happy.”
“I later found out that someone edged me out on the job cause they lived two minutes closer. How is that fair?”
On April 26th, it was shared that 198 jobs would be cut from University of Huddersfield because of ‘huge financial pressures’. This equates to 12% of the university workplace being cut.
UNISON University of Huddersfield branch secretary Steve Howe expressed that “The university needs to consider other options to address the pressures it faces without resorting to these drastic measures.”
Kirklees is ranked the 4th highest unemployment rate in Yorkshire and The Humber.
According to the ONS: “The most recent unemployment rate for Kirklees was higher than across Yorkshire and The Humber as a whole.”
Check out the latest figures on Office for National Statistics. Kirklees’ employment, unemployment and economic inactivity – ONS