Long Term Unemployment

People who have been claiming JSA for over 6 months are classed as long term unemployed - see the Job Seekers Allowance page for a description of the benefit.

Figure 1: Long Term Unemployment Claimants (October 2004 to September 2011)

0.8% of working age people in Highland are long term unemployed compared with 1.7% of people in Scotland overall and 1.5% in Great Britain. Trends in Highland since the millenium are similar to those for JSA and the steady fall in the rate appeared to halt during late 2007 with the percentage of long term unemployed people remaining steady until late 2008 when it began to rise.

Long Term Unemployment Claimants by Multi-Member Wards (September 2011)

There is a significant variation in the number of long term unemployed people across Highland. The greatest number of long term unemployed is in Inverness Central (150 people), but the highest percentage is in Wick (2.8%). The lowest long term unemployed is in Black Isle, Caol and Mallaig and Badenoch and Strathspey (all 0.2%).

Ward No	Ward Name	All Long Term Unemployment Claimants	% of population aged between 16 and pension age who are long term unemployed
1	North, West and Central Sutherland	40	1.2
2	Thurso	75	1.8
3	Wick	110	2.8
4	Landward Caithness	70	1.0
5	East Sutherland and Edderton	50	1.1
6	Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh	15	0.2
7	Cromarty Firth	85	1.2
8	Tain and Easter Ross	75	1.4
9	Dingwall and Seaforth	50	0.7
10	Black Isle	15	0.3
11	Eilean a' Cheò	35	0.6
12	Caol and Mallaig	5	0.1
13	Aird and Loch Ness	15	0.2
14	Inverness West	35	0.7
15	Inverness Central	150	1.7
16	Inverness Ness-Side	35	0.6
17	Inverness Millburn	30	0.6
18	Culloden and Ardersier	35	0.5
19	Nairn	50	0.7
20	Inverness South	20	0.2
21	Badenoch and Strathspey	20	0.3
22	Fort William and Ardnamurchan	45	0.6
	Highland	1,145	0.8
Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS

Long Term Unemployment Claimants by Local Authority (September 2011)

The highest rates are in Glasgow City and West Dunbartonshire (both 2.7%) and the lowest in Shetland (0.3%).

Local Authority	Claimants	% of population aged between 16 and pension age who are long term unemployed	% change in claims in the last 12 months
Aberdeen City	1,185	0.8	37.8
Aberdeenshire	705	0.5	43.9
Angus	755	1.1	25.8
Argyll & Bute	690	1.3	12.2
Clackmannanshire	775	2.4	37.2
Dumfries & Galloway	1,280	1.5	32.0
Dundee City	2,295	2.5	51.0
East Ayrshire	1,845	2.5	33.2
East Dunbartonshire	630	1.0	1.6
East Lothian	675	1.2	21.6
East Renfrewshire	430	0.8	3.6
Edinburgh, City of	4,070	1.2	16.8
Eilean Siar	190	1.2	11.8
Falkirk	1,975	2.1	51.9
Fife	4,270	1.9	33.0
Glasgow City	10,955	2.7	2.9
Highland	1,145	0.8	13.9
Inverclyde	1,000	2.0	42.9
Midlothian	750	1.5	22.0
Moray	465	0.9	25.7
North Ayrshire	2,265	2.8	15.0
North Lanarkshire	4,695	2.3	23.4
Orkney Islands	55	0.5	37.5
Perthshire & Kinross	675	0.7	55.2
Renfrewshire	2,040	1.9	23.6
Scottish Borders	755	1.1	16.2
Shetland Islands	40	0.3	-27.3
South Ayrshire	1045	1.6	30.6
South Lanarkshire	3,445	1.8	10.6
Stirling	750	1.3	48.5
West Dunbartonshire	1,560	2.7	49.3
West Lothian	1,580	1.4	-10.5
Scotland	54,980	1.7	13.6
United Kingdom	579,550	1.5	11.4
Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS