The unemployment rate in Nottingham has risen by nearly 80% compared to last year.
Figures released by Nottingham City Council and the Office for National Statistics break down the latest employment figures for the city as of October this year.
It showed Nottingham City the rate of unemployment currently stands at 8.1% due to 18,707 people being unemployed - a significant rise of 78.6% from the year before. This percentage is even higher, rising to 10.4%, when students are excluded from the data.
A report by the council suggests the increase is likely down to the coronavirus pandemic and the impact this has had on businesses in Nottinghamshire, with some companies forced to close or make employees redundant.
The city council report states: "An increase in unemployment was expected over this period as the government’s furlough schemes wound down.
"The fall in unemployment may reflect uncertainty around the schemes, and their eventual extension.
"Also, it should be noted that not all unemployed people will qualify for Universal Credit if they have savings or have received redundancy payments."
29,627 people were classed as unemployed in Greater Nottingham, an increase of 13,814 compared to October 2019 - and increase of 87.4%. The rate is slightly below the national average, at 6.6%.
Excluding students in Greater Nottingham, the unemployment rate stands at 7.5%.
5.7% of people in the East Midlands were unemployed as of October 2020.
Greater Nottingham has the second-lowest unemployment rate of the 'core cities', second only to Bristol, and lower than Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle and Leeds.
William Rossiter, associate professor and an economist at Nottingham Business School, has told Nottinghamshire Live he believes the rate of unemployment will keep increasing into early next year.
He said: "It's not surprising to see such an increase this year.
"That's a significant increase - it's almost doubled from the figure seen prior to March.
"I think we have to assume that increase is going to continue and it presents another set of challenges. My personal view is that government and other agencies need to be thinking more significantly about how to create employment.
"While one needs to provide individual-level support to get people back to work, there needs to be demand for that labour and I'm not really clear where that's coming from at the moment."
Below is a breakdown of the rates in different wards in Nottingham, ranked from the highest unemployment percentage to the lowest.
- Aspley - 1,453 people (12.8% of population)
- Bulwell - 1,197 people (11.9% of population)
- Berridge - 1,350 people (11.5% of population)
- Dales - 1,276 people (11.4% of population)
- Bestwood - 1,206 people (11.2% of population)
- Leen Valley - 475 people (10.4% of population)
- Hyson Green and Arboretum - 1,873 people (9.3% of population)
- Bilborough - 961 people (9.2% of population)
- Clifton East - 921 people (9.1% of population)
- Basford - 938 people (8.6% of population)
- Sherwood - 895 people (8.4% of population)
- St Ann's - 1,466 people (8.3% of population)
- Mapperley - 947 people (8.3% of population)
- Bulwell Forest - 627 people (7.8% of population)
- Meadows - 704 people (7.5% of population
- Radford - 848 people (5.6% of population)
- Wollaton West - 390 people (4.5% of population)
- Clifton West - 317 people (4.1% of population)
- Castle - 331 people (3.2% of population)
- Lenton and Wollaton East - 577 people (2.8% of population)
These figures would look different if the student population was excluded, however, with Radford, for example, jumping from 16th place to 3rd place - with the rate increasing from 5.6% to 13.5%.
However, Aspley would still have the highest rate with or without the student population included.
The age group worst affected by unemployment in Greater Nottingham is those aged 25-49, of which 10.4%, which is 11,267 people, currently find themselves out of work.
8% of 50-64-year-olds are unemployed and 5.1% of 16-24 year olds are also without a job.
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