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The West Lothian Economy

Also in this section: | Migrant Workers | More Choices - More Chances |

West Lothian has traditionally had higher than average levels of economic activity. The younger than average population, coupled with the fact that many school leavers chose to go straight into the labour market explains why activity levels are relatively high in West Lothian. The latest compendium of labour market statistics (June 2008) indicates that the rate of people who are economically active (those in employment, education or training), at 81.4% slightly exceeds the Scottish rate.

Until the recent economic problems, West Lothian had been outstripping Great Britain and Scotland across a number of indicators, including our population (which, using the 2006 population projections will grow by about 22% by 2031), economic activity and the unemployment level - which is at its lowest for more than 25 years. Unfortunately, the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance, in West Lothian is now also exceeding Scottish & UK rates.

Labour Market Statistics

The latest labour market statistics from the Annual Population Survey (APS) were published on June 26th 2008. The publication Annual Population Survey: A Compendium of Labour Market Statistics 2007 provides analysis on the labour market, education and training, using results from the Labour Force Survey. Results covering the period January to December 2007 are presented for Scotland, Local Authority Areas, Deprived Areas and Urban/Rural Areas. The full report & tables can be accessed from the menu on the right.

Labour Market Profile - West Lothian

The official Labour Market Statistics on West Lothian from 'NOMIS' on the National Statistics Labour Market Website are updated monthly. There is also a link on the right menu to the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) Tabulation Tool which allows you to download National Statistics to your own requirements.

Scottish Labour Market - Key Indicators from Future Skills Scotland

Key Indicators is an easy-to-use tool which provides free online access to a wide range of labour market and economic data for a range of geographical areas in Scotland. The Scottish Government also produce an Economic Profile for West Lothian. and a set of figures. Further information is available on their Labour Market webpage.

West Lothian Key Economic Indicators

The West Lothian Economic Partnership produce a range of Key Economic Indicators including local labour market trends, town centre occupancy and house price changes. As recession kicks in, it is important to highlight how our local economy is faring in the context of national and international economic downturn.

Unemployment Figures

The last few years had seen an steady decline in the number of Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) claimants in West Lothian. The West Lothian rate had historically been lower than the Scottish rate, but the worsening economic position has resulted in the West Lothian rate of 4.4% in November 2009, now being higher than both the Scottish (4.1%) and Great Britain (4.1%) rates, and is still the highest total for West Lothian since 1996.

Note: % is a proportion of resident working age population.

JSA based unemployment figures do not provide the full picture. However, the headline JSA figure does help to indicate the latest trend or change at a national or local level and whether the economic down turn is beginning to bite. The Government's favoured method of measuring unemployment - the ILO method does not readily translate into up to date local area estimates. Latest claimant count figures for November at 4,714 have decreased by 22 since October (when the figure was 4,736). West Lothian’s unemployment rate (4.4%), is still higher than both the Scottish (4.1%) and GB (4.1%) rates.

Note: The Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is payable to people under pensionable age who are available for, and actively seeking, work.

JSA Claimants by Sex, Age & Duration - November 2009 (October 2009 in brackets)
	WL Count	WL %	Scotland %	GB %
All People	4,714 (4,736)	4.4 (4.4)	4.1 (4.0)	4.1 (4.1)
Males	3,495 (3,513)	6.3 (6.4)	5.9 (5.8)	5.7 (5.7)
Females	1,219 (1,223)	2.3 (2.3)	2.1 (2.1)	2.4 (2.4)
Age 18-24	1,480 (1,495)	31.7 (31.8)	28.6 (29.0)	29.8 (30.3)
Aged 25-49	2,420 (2,445)	51.8 (52.1)	54.5 (54.4)	54.4 (54.0)
Aged 50+	665 (660)	14.2 (14.0)	15.4 (15.3)	15.4 (15.2)
Up to 6 months	3,215 (3,290)	68.8 (70.1)	68.3 (68.1)	66.0 (66.3)
6 to 12 months	955 (970)	20.4 (20.7)	19.4 (20.5)	21.3 (22.2)
Over 12 months	505 (435)	10.8 (9.2)	12.2 (11.4)	12.7 (11.5)
Note: % is a percentage of all JSA Claimants

Time-series (Jan 06- November 09)

Those claiming Jobseekers Allowance represent around a third of the real level of unemployment in an area. Other people willing to work may be on other benefits such as Incapacity Benefit or Income Support. The real level of unemployment is estimated to be more than three times this number. Claimant statistics should be considered alongside other benefit statistics and levels of economic inactivity in order to assess an area's real level of unemployment.

Youth Unemployment

Youth unemployment - 16 to 24 year olds - includes the MC,MC group and it is therefore important that it is tracked. The graph shows youth unemployment as a percentage of all 16 to 24 year olds, comparing West Lothian with Scotland. West Lothian has a higher proportion (8.3%) for October than Scotland (6.3%) of youth unemployment. Although both have followed a parallel trend in the last two years. N.B. Between 400 and 500, 16 to 17 year olds were registered unemployed with Skills Development Scotland most of whom will not be claiming JSA. Therefore, it is estimated that the total level of unemployment for 16 to 24 year olds is about 2,000.

Job Vacancies

The number and type of Jobcentre Plus vacancies also provide a snapshot of the local labour market. It is estimated that Jobcentre Plus vacancies account for around a third of all available employment opportunities. In West Lothian the most common type of vacancies tend to reflect the main employment sectors e.g. business services, retail and manufacturing.

The graph compares the rate of job vacancies expressed as a percentage of the number of JSA claimants for both West Lothian and Scotland. West Lothian’s rate currently stands at 20.1% and Scotland’s at 20.6%. This means there are currently five jobseekers for every vacancy advertised in West Lothian jobcentres. This October showed that West Lothian’s vacancy rate was lower than Scotland’s. The West Lothian vacancy rate had been higher than Scotland’s for the month of October in the previous four years.

The actual number of West Lothian job vacancies for this October is 950. This is a net increase of 76 vacancies on the previous month.

Time-series - Unfilled vacancies (Jan 06 - November 09)

NOTE: The West Lothian profile reports are based on notified vacancies rather than the 'unfilled' vacancy figure used in the NOMIS profile. The actual number of West Lothian notified job vacancies for July is 500 , an increase of 62 on the June figure (438), but still a much lower figure than a year ago when the figure was 956.

NOMIS guidance states that interpretation of the data needs to take account of changes in Jobcentre Plus procedures for taking and handling vacancies. Prior to May 2006, vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus were followed up with employers to ascertain whether (a) they should remain available to jobseekers, or (b) whether they should be closed or had been filled by clients referred by Jobcentre Plus. From May 2006 there has no longer been an operational need to follow up vacancies. Notified vacancies now have a closure date (agreed with the employer), and are automatically withdrawn on the closure date unless the employer advises that a later closure date is required.

Redundancies

The level and rate of redundancies are important measures of the business situation. In the first seven months of this financial year (April - Oct 2009) there have been 1,169 redundancies.

There is likely to be an underestimation of redundancies in other sectors such as construction, retail, wholesale and services because they have smaller scale firms whose redundancies are likely to fall below the BERR notification threshold of 20 employees.

A full analysis of these figures is provided on the West Lothian Business Portal which includes much more information on West Lothian's economy, the business infrastructure in the area, economic facts and figures and the strategies that drive the West Lothian economy.

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