Unemployment in Milton Keynes

You asked

Please can you provide me with the following information:

1. The average number of people unemployed in the Milton Keynes area in the years:

   1. 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70
   2. 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80
   3. 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90
   4. 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000
   5. 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16

2. The average number of people unemployed in Milton Keynes broken down into age range:

   1. average number and percentage of 18-25 year olds unemployed in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
   2. average number and percentage of 25-35 year olds unemployed in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
   3. average number and percentage of 35-45 year olds unemployed in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
   4. average number and percentage of 45-55 year olds unemployed in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
   5. average number and percentage of 55+ year olds unemployed in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

3. The average length (in months and/or years) of a person in Milton Keynes claiming Job Seekers Allowance in the years:

   1. 2010-11
   2. 2011-12
   3. 2012-13
   4. 2013-14
   5. 2014-15

We said

1. Estimates of unemployment for local authorities come from model-based estimates using information from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and the Claimant Count. The earliest period for which model-based estimates are available is the 12 month period January to December 2004. The model-based estimates of unemployment for Milton Keynes local authority for each January to December period, from 2004 to 2015 are in the attached spreadsheet in sheet 1.

2. Whilst total unemployment for local authorities is estimated using model-based estimates, as described above, age breakdowns are provided directly from the APS. The local authority unemployment estimates are published for standard age bands; 16-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-49, 50-64 and 65+. The APS estimates for unemployment for these age bands, for Milton Keynes local authority for each January to December period, from 2004 to 2015 are in the attached spreadsheet in sheet 2. Because they are from different sources, the unemployment by age estimates in sheet 2 will not necessarily sum to the model-based unemployment estimates in sheet 1.

   The rates given in sheet 2 are unemployment rates for the stated age bands. The ONS publishes unemployment rates in line with the international standard for this measure. This does not use the population as a denominator for calculating the rate. Instead it uses the economically active population, i.e. those who are employed or unemployed, excluding those that are economically inactive. Mid year population estimates for Milton Keynes, for the age bands given in sheet 2 are provided in sheet 3. These can be used to calculate a percentage of people within the supplied age bands, if preferred.

3. Estimates are not published of the average length of time for a person claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. As a measure, this would be relatively meaningless due to the constant churn of significant numbers of short term claims that may last only a few days. Instead ONS publishes statistics by duration bands to give a picture of how length of claim varies over time. Sheet 4 has a breakdown of the number of claims for Jobseeker's Allowance in Milton Keynes by length of claim from January 2010 to May 2016.

It should be noted that Universal Credit started to replace Income Based Jobseeker's Allowance from April 2013, with UC being rolled out to the Milton Keynes area from November 2015.