[holding answer 20 October 2008]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the level of unemployment was in Milton Keynes from 1997 to the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by month. (228428)
The Office for National Statistics compiles unemployment statistics for local areas using model based estimates following the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition.
Model based estimates of unemployment for Milton Keynes are only available for annual periods from March 1997 to February 2004, and for rolling four quarter periods from January 2004. The latest estimates are for the 12 month period ending December 2007.
Table 1, attached, shows model based estimates of the number of people aged 16 and over who were unemployed and resident in Milton Keynes from 1997 to 2007. As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
Table 2 attached shows the number of persons claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance resident in Milton Keynes for each month since 1997.
These figures along with a wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are also published on the Office for National Statistics’ Nomis® website: www.nomisweb.co.uk
12 months ending: Number (Thousand) February 1997 5 February 1998 6 February 1999 5 February 2000 4 February 2001 4 February 2002 4 February 2003 6 February 2004 6 December 2004 5 March 2005 5 June 2005 5 September 2005 5 December 2005 5 March 2006 6 June 2006 7 September 2006 7 December 2006 7 March 2007 6 June 2007 6 September 2007 5 December 20072 **6 1 Levels of unemployment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. The figures presented are weighted to population estimates published in 2007. 2 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality as follows: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: Coefficient of Statistical Robustness Variation (CV) (percentage) * 0 < CV < 5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 < CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 < CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV > 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Source: Model Based Estimates.
Number 1997 January 4,440 February 4,441 March 4,157 April 3,979 May 3,766 June 3,470 July 3,540 August 3,575 September 3,446 October 3,025 November 2,734 December 2,745 1998 January 2,918 February 2,997 March 2,843 April 2,811 May 2,676 June 2,516 July 2,536 August 2,536 September 2,463 October 2,301 November 2,223 December 2,266 1999 January 2,573 February 2,686 March 2,612 April 2,524 May 2,477 June 2,294 July 2,303 August 2,315 September 2,279 October 2,109 November 2,074 December 2,050 2000 January 2,429 February 2,446 March 2,370 April 2,196 May 2,153 June 2,062 July 2,052 August 2,042 September 1,959 October 1,829 November 1,709 December 1,769 2001 January 1,956 February 2,050 March 2,042 April 2,014 May 1,954 June 1,921 July 1,995 August 2,075 September 1,925 October 1,890 November 1,880 December 2,007 2002 January 2,231 February 2,420 March 2,444 April 2,404 May 2,355 June 2,345 July 2,402 August 2,429 September 2,398 October 2,310 November 2,159 December 2,150 2003 January 2,428 February 2,696 March 2,815 April 2,790 May 2,656 June 2,667 July 2,685 August 2,707 September 2,792 October 2,663 November 2,645 December 2,586 2004 January 2,798 February 2,971 March 3,000 April 2,889 May 2,705 June 2,566 July 2,508 August 2,400 September 2,364 October 2,336 November 2,266 December 2,282 2005 January 2,506 February 2,657 March 2,689 April 2,742 May 2,776 June 2,803 July 2,869 August 2,704 September 2,785 October 2,625 November 2,524 December 2,510 2006 January 2,776 February 3,056 March 3,513 April 3,376 May 3,296 June 3,254 July 3,352 August 3,273 September 3,262 October 3,150 November 3,041 December 2,965 2007 January 3,224 February 3,343 March 3,291 April 3,160 May 3,084 June 3,053 July 3,056 August 3,048 September 2,899 October 2,724 November 2,730 December 2,716 2008 January 2,946 February 3,185 March 3,260 April 3,368 May 3,278 June 3,452 July 3,553 August 3,923 September 3,916 Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System.