Unemployment in London and Cambridge

You asked

I would like to get all information regarding unemployment in Cambridge and London please. All relevant data from January 2014 - December 2014.

We said

Thank you for your request for all information regarding unemployment for Cambridge and London from January 2014 – December 2014.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles estimates of unemployment for local areas, such as Cambridge, using a model based estimate which makes use of the Annual Population Survey (APS) and information on the number of claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance. Estimates from this source for the twelve month period from January to December 2014 are not due to be published until April 2015. Estimates for the period from October 2013 to September 2014 were first published in January 2015.

For regions, such as London, ONS compiles information for comparable periods on a similar timescale to the local area model based estimates, although at regional level, only the APS is used. However, additionally for regions, ONS also compiles estimates using the Labour Force Survey (LFS). This is the same source used for the headline UK unemployment estimates. These figures are produced each month for a three month reference period. The figures for the period October to December 2014 are due for publication on 18 February, whereas the September to November period were published in January.

In Table 1 of the attached spreadsheet are the model based estimates for Cambridge and APS estimates for London, for the unemployment level and rate, covering the twelve month periods from April 2013 to March 2014, to October 2013 to September 2014. These figures are also available from tables M01, for model based estimates and HI07 – 2(2) for the APS estimates of the Regional Labour Market Statistical Release.

In Table 2 of the attached spreadsheet are the LFS estimates, of unemployment level and rate, for London covering the periods from November 2013 to January 2014, to September 2014 to November 2014. These figures are also available from table HI07 – 1 of the above release.

As with any estimates based on a sample, survey estimates from the APS and LFS along with model based estimates are subject to a certain level of uncertainty.