The key indicator we have to show the level of unemployment is the claimant count. We would like to see:
- the rate reduce from its April 2018 level
- the Denbighshire rate to be lower than the Wales rate and the UK rate
- the worst performing neighbourhoods catching up with the better performing neighbourhoods within Denbighshire
Current Performance
Unemployment is currently a priority for improvement (hence the investment in Working Denbighshire). The Denbighshire rate is higher than the Wales and UK rates and has been on the increase since the end of 2017.
On of the external factors that effects this is the introduction of Universal Credit. People who previously claimed benefits that did not require them to look for work are being transferred to Universal Credit and are being asked to look for work. This means they are then included in the unemployment figures where they weren’t before.
The second key factor is the economy itself. Uncertainty, relating to the Brexit process is widely believed to be the cause of the rise in unemployment affecting not only Denbighshire but Wales and the wider UK as well.