The hardest city to get a job in

If you live in Merthyr Tydfil, you face the most competitive jobs market in the UK!

Unemployment currently stands at 2.43 million, with the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance rising at its fastest rate in two years in May.

Clearly, it is an exceptionally difficult and competitive marketplace if you’re after a job. And new research shows just which towns and cities are the hardest in which to get a job.

The competitive jobs market

The GMB union has used figures from the Office for National Statistics and Job Centres from across the nation to work out which areas of the UK have the largest number of unemployed workers chasing each unfilled job vacancy.

Across the nation as a whole, there are just shy of six (5.8) unemployed workers for each unfilled job. However, that ratio jumps significantly in London, to 10.1 for each vacancy, making it the toughest region in which to find a job.

Here’s how the regional breakdown looks:

Region Unfilled vacancies Total jobseeker’s allowance claimants Ratio
London 22,401 226,182 10.1
Scotland 15,551 142,377 9.2
North East 10,916 84,610 7.8
North West 28,900 186,808 6.5
Yorkshire & the Humber 24,756 150,203 6.1
Wales 13,755 73,104 5.3
West Midlands 33,507 162,914 4.9
East Midlands 23,075 103,235 4.5
East 24,901 110,849 4.5
South East 32,831 137,027 4.2
South West 23,105 84,335 3.7

Good luck in Merthyr

That’s all well and good but these regions are very big places, covering areas both prosperous and downtrodden. It’s a bit vague to say it’s difficult to get a job in Scotland, as there will plenty of areas where that’s not the case.

Thankfully the GMB have also put together a more detailed list, looking at specific towns and cities that are seeing this job competition at its keenest. And it’s a town in Wales which tops the table, with a staggering 32.7 jobseeker’s allowance claimants for each vacancy.

Region Unfilled vacancies Total jobseeker’s allowance claimants Ratio
Merthyr Tydfil 63 2,063 32.7
East Ayrshire 139 4,345 31.3
Inverclyde 86 2,648 30.8
West Dunbartonshire 122 3,726 30.5
Hackney 452 10,941 24.2
Haringey 450 10,577 23.5
Greenwich 334 7,644 22.9
Lewisham 443 9,926 22.4
North Ayrshire 243 5,370 22.1
Barking and Dagenham 302 6,581 21.8
Waltham Forest 476 9,244 19.4
Knowsley 335 6,168 18.4
Eilean Siar 28 491 17.5
Kingston upon Hull, City of 849 14,425 17.0
Medway 417 6,764 16.2
East Renfrewshire 92 1,395 15.2
Hartlepool 280 4,192 15.0
Clackmannanshire 124 1,828 14.7
Dundee City 381 5,445 14.3
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 460 6,574 14.3
Bexley 319 4,500 14.1
Redcar and Cleveland 386 5,445 14.1
Renfrewshire 390 5,472 14.0
Redbridge 522 7,224 13.8
Wirral 634 8,748 13.8
Glasgow City 1,870 25,545 13.7
Middlesbrough 516 7,007 13.6
Brent 731 9,918 13.6
South Lanarkshire 656 8,848 13.5
South Tyneside 453 6,032 13.3
Newham 868 11,284 13.0
Caerphilly 413 5,279 12.8
South Ayrshire 226 2,879 12.7
Lambeth 932 11,799 12.7
Southwark 838 10,573 12.6
Falkirk 376 4,635 12.3
Tower Hamlets 863 10,507 12.2
Croydon 843 10,045 11.9
Blaenau Gwent 248 2,955 11.9
North East Lincolnshire 550 6,361 11.6

As you can see, the entire top 40 have a higher ratio of claimants per vacancy than the top region, London.

UKFinabe.Yahoo.com

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