Centre for Cities has launched a new interactive online tool to track unemployment in the 63 largest cities and towns in the UK. You can explore this here.
You can see here some key statistics from the newly released data today covering the period up to September 2020:
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits has increased by 1.4 million since March and now stands at 2.7 million people.
Birmingham has overtaken Blackpool as the place with the highest unemployment rate in the country. Almost one in ten adults in the city are claiming unemployment related benefits.
Slough, Luton, London and Crawley remain the places that have had the largest increases in people claiming unemployment-related benefits since the March lockdown.
Slough, Luton and Crawley have also all had the largest increases in unemployment in the past month.
While also slowing down, the number of young people claiming unemployment-related benefits is rising at a faster rate than the number of adults overall.
Half of large cities and towns have seen no change or decrease in claimant count compared to last month.
Percentage point change in unemployment claims March – September 2020
HIGHEST
LOWEST
Rank
Place
Percentage point change
Rank
Place
Percentage point change
1
Slough
5.6
1
York
2.3
2
Luton
5.4
2
Exeter
2.4
3
Crawley
5.1
3
Oxford
2.6
4
London
4.8
4
Swansea
2.6
5
Bradford
4.4
5
Cambridge
2.7
6
Northampton
4.3
6
Preston
2.7
7
Brighton
4.2
7
Warrington
2.8
8
Birmingham
4.1
8
Mansfield
2.9
9
Liverpool
4.1
9
Barnsley
2.9
10
Blackpool
4.1
10
Belfast
3
Percentage point change in unemployment claims August – September 2020
HIGHEST
LOWEST
Rank
Place
Percentage point change
Rank
Place
Percentage point change
1
Crawley
0.5
1
Blackpool
-0.3
2
Slough
0.3
2
Mansfield
-0.1
3
London
0.2
3
Barnsley
-0.1
4
Derby
0.2
4
Exeter
-0.1
5
Bradford
0.2
5
Doncaster
-0.1
6
Coventry
0.2
6
Preston
0.0
7
Aberdeen
0.2
7
Portsmouth
0.0
8
Birmingham
0.2
8
Glasgow
0.0
9
Oxford
0.1
9
Swindon
0.0
10
Brighton
0.1
10
Edinburgh
0.0
Overall unemployment claimant count rate, September 2020
HIGHEST
LOWEST
Rank
Place
Percentage
Rank
Place
Percentage
1
Birmingham
9.8
1
York
3.6
2
Hull
9.7
2
Exeter
4.2
3
Blackpool
9.5
3
Cambridge
4.3
4
Bradford
9.5
4
Oxford
4.6
5
Liverpool
8.9
5
Oxford
4.6
6
Luton
8.7
6
Reading
5.1
7
Slough
8.5
7
Edinburgh
5.1
8
Sunderland
8.3
8
Warrington
5.4
9
Middlesbrough
8.3
9
Preston
5.4
10
Blackburn
8.2
10
Norwich
5.6
Further analysis of this data by Centre for Cities Senior Analyst Elena Magrini can be read here.
All of our work on unemployment and the labour market can be read here.
Consumer spending fell in almost every city and large town in UK as Autumn approached
Double digit drops in visitor footfall for many UK tourist destinations this September
Almost everywhere saw a fall in consumer spending as summer concluded
But the 10pm curfew made little change to visitor numbers, with a number of areas still above pre-lockdown levels of footfall
The recovery of the UK’s high streets stalled in September as many cities’ and towns’ summer booms ended. This is according to the latest data from the Centre for Cities High Streets Recovery Tracker in partnership with Nationwide Building Society.
Overall footfall in the centres of cities and large towns increased by just one percentage point last month. This is 17 percentage points lower than the increase seen in July and August.
Consumer spending in city and town centres also fell almost everywhere – in many places significantly. While Bournemouth had the biggest increase in visitors this summer, in September the amount of money being spent there fell by 46 percentage points – the most of all the cities studied.
Additionally, Bournemouth and many other tourist destinations such as Blackpool, Brighton, York and Edinburgh saw large drops in the numbers of visitors in September as the summer holidays ended, raising concerns that their initial recovery from Covid-19 may have been short lived.
Cities and large towns showing the biggest drops in footfall this September
Rank
City
Percentage point fall in footfall in September
1
Bournemouth
-31
2
Blackpool
-25
3
Swansea
-16
4
Brighton
-14
5
York
-14
6
Edinburgh
-12
7
Southampton
-11
8
Southend
-10
9
Cardiff
-10
10
Liverpool
-10
UK urban average: 1 percentage point
Cities and large towns showing the biggest drops in spending this September
Rank
City
Percentage point fall in spending in September
1
Bournemouth
-46
2
Middlesbrough
-43
3
Blackpool
-39
4
Birkenhead
-29
5
Liverpool
-28
6
Brighton
-28
7
Wigan
-26
8
Newport
-25
9
Preston
-25
10
Cardiff
-24
UK urban average: -9 percentage points
Data from the end of September suggests little indication that the 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants had an effect on footfall, which overall has not fallen as a result of the measures.
Cities and large towns showing the biggest drops in footfall this September
Cities with the highest footfall as a percentage of pre-lockdown average
Cities with the lowest footfall as a percentage of pre-lockdown average
Rank
Rank
1
Basildon
132
1
London
35
2
Chatham
129
2
Manchester
51
3
Birkenhead
123
3
Cardiff
51
4
Blackpool
116
4
Birmingham
55
5
Burnley
112
5
Oxford
55
6
Doncaster
108
6
Liverpool
59
7
Telford
107
7
Edinburgh
60
8
Southend
105
8
Leeds
61
9
Wigan
103
9
Glasgow
62
10
Bournemouth
102
10
Newcastle
65
UK urban average: 64%
The persistently low numbers of people going back to work in city centres, particularly in big cities, reinforces the concerns for the future of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars that depend on office workers for custom.
On average, across large cities and towns just one in five workers have now returned to their place of work. In London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Oxford the figure is even lower – at around 15%. Meanwhile in Basildon and Mansfield, the figure has reached almost half.
Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said:“Many places in the UK benefited from the good weather, Eat Out To Help Out and domestic holiday makers. But it’s clear that this was a seasonal boom and with winter approaching, Covid cases rising and the prospect of more local lockdowns, policy makers need to think hard about how to support places through the difficult months ahead.
“The Job Support Scheme and related measures will help but, as the Chancellor said, it can’t support every job. However, there is a still risk that many of the local amenities that many of us have made use of this summer could be lost in the months ahead. So, I’d like to see the Chancellor set out how he proposes to protect these for us to enjoy once again when it is once again safe to do so.
“Greater devolution of powers and responsibilities, such as those expected in the postponed devolution white paper would have been one way for to help places help themselves so the Government should press ahead with doing this as soon as possible.”
Visitor numbers recovered to pre-lockdown levels in many places
But latest tracker data shows no increase in people returning to the office since June
Centre for Cities call for Government to offer further help to impacted retail and hospitality workers if footfall remains low at a time of continued uncertainty
New data from the Centre for Cities’ Street Recovery Tracker, in partnership with Nationwide Building Society, reveals that while footfall in many of the UK’s town and city centres recovered to pre-lockdown levels this summer the share of people returning to the workplace has not increased since late June, despite the UK Government’s campaign to get people back into offices.
Centre for Cities and Nationwide are working together to better understand how large cities and towns continue to be impacted by Covid-19, particularly if the recent rise in cases is sustained.
Overall city centre footfall up by 7% in August
According to mobile phone tracking data, despite the continued reluctance of people to return to their places of work, overall town and city centre footfall increased by seven-percentage points to 63% of pre-lockdown levels since the beginning of August.
In 14 of the UK’s 63 largest cities and towns, city centre footfall in August exceeded pre-lockdown levels. Seaside towns such as Blackpool, Bournemouth and Southend and smaller cities such as Birkenhead and Chatham proved particularly popular with visitors.
Again, overall footfall in larger cities remains well below the national average. In Central London footfall is still at just 31% of pre-lockdown levels, in Manchester it is 49% and in Birmingham it is 52%.
Where has overall city centre visitor footfall recovered the most?
Rank
City or town centre
Total city-centre footfall as a percentage of pre-lockdown levels (HIGHEST)
Rank
City or town
Total city-centre footfall as a percentage of pre-lockdown levels (LOWEST)
1
Blackpool
141
1
London
31
2
Bournemouth
133
2
Manchester
49
3
Birkenhead
124
3
Birmingham
52
4
Southend
116
4
Oxford
57
5
Chatham
115
5
Leeds
57
6
Burnley
111
6
Nottingham
59
7
Basildon
110
7
Cardiff
61
8
Doncaster
110
8
Sheffield
63
9
Portsmouth
106
9
Bristol
63
10
Telford
106
10
Leicester
64
UK city average: Total visitor footfall is now at 63%, compared to pre-lockdown. Week commencing 24 August. Source: Locomizer
Where is city and town centre footfall back to pre-lockdown levels?
Cities with a footfall score at or above 100% of pre-lockdown levels week commencing 24 August.Source: Locomizer
But levels of people returning to their workplace remains flat
The data shows weekday worker footfall in the centres of the UK’s largest cities and towns remains at just 17% of pre-lockdown levels on average – exactly the same as it was at the end of June.
The share of people returning to their places of work is even lower in many of the largest and most economically prosperous cities with London, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff all still below the UK city average.
Recovery has been stronger in smaller cities and large towns where weekday worker footfall is on average 27% of pre-lockdown levels. In Mansfield the share of people back at their place of work is now at 42% of what it was in February. However, nowhere has yet reached even half of pre-lockdown levels, so the UK has a long way to go if office life is to ever return to ‘normal’.
Places with the LARGEST share of people back in their place of work, compared to pre-lockdown (%)
Rank
City or town
Places with the SMALLEST share of people back in their place of work, compared to pre-lockdown (%)
1
Mansfield
42
1
Oxford
9
2
Basildon
38
2
Leeds
13
3
Newport
36
3
London
13
4
Birkenhead
35
4
Birmingham
14
5
Blackburn
35
5
Manchester
14
6
Northampton
34
6
Cardiff
15
7
Stoke
34
7
Reading
16
8
Derby
31
8
Sheffield
16
9
Chatham
31
9
Liverpool
16
10
Wigan
31
10
Portsmouth
16
UK city average: 17% of people back in their place of work, compared to pre-lockdown. Week commencing 24 August. Source: Locomizer
The persistently low numbers of people going back to work in city centres, particularly in big cities, reinforces the concerns for the future of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars that depend on office workers for custom.
Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said:“Good weather, Eat Out To Help Out and a boost to domestic tourism have helped increase visitor numbers to the UK’s seaside towns, but we should not celebrate too soon. “
We do not know yet whether this will continue into autumn and our biggest cities, which we rely on to power the UK’s economy, are still struggling in the wake of lockdown.
“There is little indication that workers are heeding the Government’s call to return to their offices and city centre restaurants, pubs and shops face an uncertain future while they remain at home. So, unless we see a big increase in people returning to the office, the Chancellor must set out how he will support the people working in retail and hospitality who could soon find themselves out of a job.”
Mandy Beech, Nationwide’s Director of Branches, said:“This latest research tells us Britain’s city and town centres continue to see significantly reduced footfall despite the nation having emerged from lockdown some time ago.
“However, there are positive signs that visitor numbers are picking up in many regional areas. While we can all hope life returns to normal quickly, the reality is that progress will be both uncertain and slow as workers look to return to their offices over the coming months.
“As an organisation rooted in the UK’s cities and towns, we want to do what we can to serve our members as the nation rebalances itself.
“During lockdown we challenged ourselves to keep 90 per cent of our branches open and today that stands at 98 per cent. While our own footfall has fluctuated, our branch employees have been able to support call-centre colleagues to help meet demand.
“As a vital service, we will continue to work in this way as we understand and respond to the needs of our members at this time.”
Good weather and Eat Out To Help Out has boosted high street footfall
But retail and hospitality jobs at risk as office workers continue to stay away
Think tank warns this may not be sustained as we head into autumn
New data from the Centre for Cities High Street Recovery Tracker reveals that Eat Out To Help Out is helping the high street, but workers are resisting the Government’s calls to get back to the office – with average weekday city centre footfall showing no change at all since early July.
Using mobile phone data, the tracker shows that the Eat Out to Help Out scheme has encouraged more people to visit city and town centres. On average on Monday to Wednesday evenings in early August visitor numbers were 8 percentage points higher than in late July.
But the scheme has been less effective in large cities. In London, the number of city centre visitors on Eat Out to Help Out nights was just 3 percentage points higher than the same nights in late July – one of the lowest increases in the UK. In contrast, average footfall on Eat Out to Help Out nights in small cities was on average 10 percentage points higher than in late July and in medium sized cities it was 14 percentage points higher.
Seaside towns appear to have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the Eat Out To Help Out scheme and the good weather. With a 23 percentage point increase in Monday to Wednesday night visitors, Bournemouth has had the biggest Eat Out To Help Out boom. Meanwhile Southend, Blackpool and Brighton have also benefited.
Biggest percentage point increase in Mon-Wed night visitors from late Jul to early Aug
Rank
City or town
Smallest percentage point increase in Mon-Wed night visitors from late Jul to early Aug
1
Bournemouth
23
1
Aberdeen
-3
2
Southend
22
2
Basildon
0
3
Dundee
21
3
Aldershot
3
4
Doncaster
20
4
London
3
5
Peterborough
19
5
Barnsley
4
6
Swansea
19
6
Blackburn
4
7
Ipswich
19
7
Sheffield
5
8
Middlesbrough
18
8
Wigan
6
9
Milton Keynes
18
9
Manchester
6
10
Blackpool
18
10
Mansfield
6
UK city average: 8 percentage point change from late July to early August (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)Source: Locomizer
Workers are showing no signs of getting back to the office…
The number of workers heading back to the office has increased in fewer than half of the UK’s biggest city and town centres.
In central London and Manchester, early August weekday footfall rose by just one percentage point compared to the early July. While Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham all saw no change and in Birmingham city centre the number of workers has fallen this summer.
The persistently low numbers of workers going back into city centres, particularly in big cities, reinforces the concerns for the future of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars that depend on office workers for custom.
But, again, overall footfall in bigger cities is much weaker than in smaller places. Central London’s overall footfall increased by just five percentage points since early July, and Manchester and Leeds’ by 7 percentage points. On the other hand, footfall in small cities increased by 14 percentage points and medium-sized cities by 18 percentage points over the same period.
“But a question mark remains over whether the footfall increase that we have seen this summer can be sustained into the autumn without the good weather and Government incentive – particularly with so many people still working from home.
“Shops, restaurants and pubs face an uncertain future while office workers remain at home. So, in the absence of a big increase in people returning to the office, the Government must set out how it will support the people working in city centre retail and hospitality who could well find themselves out of a job by Christmas.”
