Briefings and Blog
Need help? How to use this site >We are all in this together
We are all in this together – or are we? The traditional economist view is, of course, yes: we are all part of one big economy, we all have a role to play and the actions of one economic agent will impact on another. I recall my very first...
All Aboard..
With this months figures showing the employment train is leaving ‘Recession Station’ the immediate question has to be where is it going? Nationally the rate of unemployment has fallen and the number in employment has risen. For Devon the number of...
Chief Economist’s Blog – How strong is Devon’s economy?
This really depends on how you define strong. There are a number of indicators where Devon performs well and a number of others where the county performs less well.
Unemployment for example is and has been for some time, lower than the national...
Welcome to the new Devon County Council Economy Blog
This blog will be keeping you regularly updated with key information that has an effect on the Devon economy. Rob Hetherington, Devon County Council’s Chief Economist will be sharing his views on the economy.
Briefings
Job Seekers Allowance Analysis - May 2011
The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) in April continues to fall which is particularly encouraging. This sees claimant count fall from 9,988 in March to 9,451 in April, representing a 5.4% decrease month on month. This also sees the rate of the working age population who are receipt of this out of work benefit drop from 2.2% to 2.1%. This follows the trend seen nationally (UK), although rates are increasing somewhat faster in Devon. In comparison with our neighbours, the rate of JSA claimants in Devon has remained below all areas and the national average for the last twelve months.
Job Seekers Allowance Analysis - April 2011
The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) in March has fallen for the first time in sixth
months, which is particularly encouraging. This sees claimant count fall from 10,159 in February to 9,988 in March, representing a 2% decrease month on month. However, the rate of the working age population who are in receipt of this out of work benefit remains the same at 2.2%. This follows the trend seen nationally, although rates are decreasing somewhat faster in Devon. In comparison with our neighbours, the rate of JSA claimants in Devon is lower and has also remained lower the national average for the last twelve months.
Economic Briefing - Budget Special
Document:
Economists tend to get over excited whenever there is a budget: the combination of arcane theories, a
plethora of facts and figures, technical changes and a redirection of policy can be too much for some.
Thankfully this budget was a much more staid affair. For his first March budget George Osborne had little
room to manoeuvre given that last year’s paradigm shifting Comprehensive Spending Review set the
parameters for this year. Instead the Chancellor was left with tinkering at the margins of procedure and