Half of London boroughs have more people out of work now than before pandemic

Across London there are more than 460,000 people who are either looking for a job or are economically inactive
Jonathan Ashworth has outlined plans to entice over-50s to take up employment again
PA Archive
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The number of people out of work has increased in half of London’s boroughs since the pandemic, figures revealed on Tuesday.

Sixteen boroughs had more people who were either unemployed or "economically inactive" in September 2022 compared to the year up to the Covid lockdowns in March 2020.

The highest increases were in Camden, which had 12,704 more working-age people out without a job. This was followed by Southwark (11,800), Croydon (10,400) and Barnet (10,000).

Across London there are more than 460,000 people who are either looking for a job or are economically inactive.

It comes amid a national rise in the number of people aged 16 and over who do not work. There are currently 1.3million unemployed people in the UK and a further 9million who are neither in work nor looking for a job.

During a visit to the Salvation Army’s employment plus service in East Ham today, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth criticised the Government’s record on employment.

He said: “Labour will get Britain back to work by guaranteeing Londoners genuine help and support to find a quality job.

"Under this government so many Londoners have been written off and forgotten, instead it’s Labour’s mission to help everybody find a good quality job so they can provide for themselves and family.”

Ministers are concerned that economic inactivity could hold back Britain’s growth.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has set up a review of policies to raise workforce participation and is expected to address the issue during the Budget on March 15.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in