- By Buckinghamshire Business First
- 15 March, 2017
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The latest research on Buckinghamshire's economy is in, giving us a greater understanding of how business, social and economic landscapes are changing over time.
Claimant count
The number of out of work Buckinghamshire residents claiming either Job Seekers’ Allowance or Universal Credit rose by 110 in February to reach 2,925, the highest total for two years. Over the last year Buckinghamshire’s claimant count has risen by 11.6 per cent (305 people), well over the 0.4 per cent recorded across the country as a whole, making this the 3rd highest rate of increase among the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships and 4th highest among the 27 county council areas. At 0.9 per cent of working age residents, Buckinghamshire’s claimant count rate remains well below the national rate, ranking 3rd lowest among LEPs and 6th lowest among county council areas.
Exports
Almost half of Buckinghamshire’s exports go to the EU, with 14.2 per cent going to the US and 3.1 per cent to China, leaving almost a third going to the rest of the world. Buckinghamshire’s exports were worth £3.9bn in 2014, split evenly between goods and services. At £17,025, Buckinghamshire ranked 11th among the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships for value of export per job, ranking 5th for services but only 23rd for goods.
House building
There were 1,640 dwellings completed in Buckinghamshire in 2016, representing 0.8 per cent of existing stock, the 11th highest house building rate among both the 27 county councils and the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships. There were 560 completions in the quarter, the highest quarterly total since the start of 2015 and the 2nd highest since comparable records began in 2005. Since 2010, 6,760 dwellings have been built in Aylesbury Vale, representing 9.5 per cent of 2010’s stock, the 5th highest house building rate of any local authority in England over that period.
Further data highlights
Other data released this month includes the March update to Experian’s Local Market Forecast, which suggest total workforce jobs in Buckinghamshire will rise by 0.7 per cent per annum from 2017 to 2026, raising the total by 17,900 over the period, led by increases in public services (7,700), professional and business services (4,100), and wholesale and retail (3,900).
UK labour market overview
The ONS’s overview of today’s national labour market data can be found here >
Spring Budget
Read Buckinghamshire Business First’s overview of the Chancellor’s Spring Budget: https://bbf.uk.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-spring-budget
