Jobless rate in London suburbs is up 50% in two years

Hard times: Figures show the unemployment rate in inner London rose by 25 per cent but in outer London the figure went up 50 per cent
12 April 2012

Unemplyment in the outer boroughs is rocketing at twice the rate it is in inner London, according to a major new report on poverty.

The New Policy Institute think-tank found the unemployment rate in inner London rose by 25 per cent to 167,000 people between 2007 and last year. But in outer London, the figure went up 50 per cent to 199,000.

The study called London's Poverty Profile was commissioned by the charity Trust for London.

It also found a dramatic increase in poverty among those in work. And London has the highest rates of child, working-age and pensioner poverty of any English region.

There is also an east-west divide. While the inner boroughs of west London survived the recession well, outer parts of east London saw a large rise in numbers claiming jobseeker's allowance and mortgage repossessions.

The Trust for London says the Government's spending review could make the problem worse. "Many parts of London and many of its communities have been hit hard by the recession," said chief executive Bharat Mehta.

"We call upon the Chancellor carefully to consider what impact his cuts will have - and in particular who will pay the greatest price."

More than 300,000 more Londoners are living in poverty in working households than a decade ago. Half the capital's low-income population is now living in a household where at least one adult is working.

Young people are among the worst affected, with the unemployment rate in this group higher than at any time in 17 years. One in three of London's unemployed is under 25. "This London's Poverty Profile report shows that some of the gains of the past decade have been wiped out," said Trust for London chairman Peter Williams.

"Unemployment is likely to continue to rise and, as with previous recessions, it is young people who will be most affected. It is those [young people] with no work experience, poorest exam grades and from the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods who are most likely to feature in the statistics."

The authors say planned cuts in housing benefit could cause the most problems.

Peter Kenway, director of the New Policy Institute, said: "The proposed government cap on housing benefit looks set to exacerbate the problems of polarisation, making much of inner London no longer affordable for poorer people. This risks increasing the levels of poverty in outer London - a developing trend."

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