Seasonally adjusted Live Register decreases by 2,200 in March

On a seasonally adjusted basis the Live Register total recorded a monthly decrease of 2,200 in March 2013, bringing the seasonally adjusted total to 426,100.  In unadjusted terms there were 425,088 people signing on the Live Register in March 2013. This represents an annual decrease of 8,966 (-2.1%). The standardised unemployment rate (SUR) in March 2013 was 14.0%, unchanged from the revised February 2013 rate. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate from the most recent Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) was 14.2% in the fourth quarter of 2012. 

Other features include:
On a seasonally adjusted basis the Live Register showed a monthly decrease of 2,500 males in March 2013, while females increased by 300 over the same period.  The number of male claimants decreased by 11,247 (-4.0%) to 268,996 over the year and female claimants increased by 2,281(+1.5%) to 156,092. This compares with a decrease of 9,982 (-3.4%) to 280,243 for males and an increase of 2,843 (+1.9%) to 153,811for females in the year to March 2012

Live Register duration of continuous registration

The number of long term claimants on the Live Register in March 2013 was 187,896. The number of male long term claimants decreased by 1,065 (-0.8%) in the year to March 2013, while females increased by 4,496 (+8.7%) giving an overall annual increase of 3,431 (+1.9%) in the number of long term claimants.

In March 55.8% (237,192) of all claimants on the Live Register were short term claimants. The comparable figure for March 2012 was 57.5% (249,589). The annual fall of 12,397 (-5.0%) in the number of short term claimants consisted of a decrease of 10,182 (-6.9%) in the number of male short term claimants and a decrease of 2,215 (-2.2%) in female short term claimants.

Live Register casual and part-time workers

There were 89,798 casual and part-time workers on the Live Register in March, which represents 21.1% of the total Live Register. This compares with 20.4% one year earlier when there were 88,716 casual and part-time workers on the Live Register. In the year to March 2013 the number of casual and part-time workers increased by 1,082 (+1.2%), with the number of males increasing by 1,422 (+3.0%) and the number of females decreasing by 340 (-0.8%).

Live Register age groups

In the year to March 2013 the number of persons aged 25 and over on the Live Register decreased by 2,565 (-0.7%), and the number of persons aged under 25 decreased by 6,401 (-8.8%). Annual decreases in persons aged under 25 have occurred in all months since July 2010. The percentage of persons aged under 25 on the Live Register now stands at 15.7% for March 2013, down from 16.8% in March 2012 and 18.4% in March 2011.

Live Register new registrants

There were 36,574 new registrants on the Live Register in March 2013, consisting of 16,046 JB claims, 18,512 JA claims and 2,016 ‘Other Registrants’. Males accounted for 54.2% (19,839) and females 45.8% (16,735) of all new registrants.

On average 3,968 male and 3,347 female new registrants joined the Live Register each week of the month. The difference between the number of new registrants on the Live Register and the change in the total number on the Live Register is accounted for by closed claims and movements between schemes.