Hackney women losing jobs faster than men

Last month saw the number of people in Hackney claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) fall for the first time since September 2008. Today's figures - which cover July - show significant rises. The group that has added the most to Hackney's JSA claimant count in June and July is women.

Today's figures - which cover July - show that 9550 people in Hackney are now claiming, an increase of 242 claimants from last month.

In June the number of claimants in Hackney actually fell to 9308 - from 9350 in May, a fall of 42 claimants.

The July figures show that 144 new people in South Hackney lost their jobs. (Increasing from 5190 to 5334). As such the majority of the new unemployed this month are in South Hackney (144) compared to North Hackney (98)

While the level of JSA claimants in Hackney North and Stoke Newington is lower than in Hackney South the rises are more consistent.

Hackney North
May - 4,081
June - 4,118
July - 4206
A total of 125 jobs lost over the period

Hackney South
May - 5,296
June - 5,190
July - 5,344
A total of 48 jobs lost over the period.

However the largest divide is not geographical, it is gender-based. Far more women appear to be losing their jobs than men.

Hackney South and Shoreditch
May figures - 3,612 men and 1,684 women
June figures - 3,531 men and 1,659 women
August figures - 3,564 men and 1,780 women.

The number of men on JSA in South Hackney has fallen by 48. The number of women has increased by 96. That's near a 6% increase in the number of women JSA claimants compared to a 1% decrease in the number of male claimants.

This compares to Hackney North:
May: 2,780 men and 1,301 women
June: 2,796 men and 1,322 women
July: 2,840 men and 1,366 women

In Hackney North the number female JSA claimants has risen faster - 60 new male claimants (an increase of 2%) compared to 65 new female claimants (and increase of nearly 5%).


Hackney women earn more per hour than Hackney men

This is according to figures from 2007 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. According to Hackney Council's 2008 Economic Profile of Hackney:

Average hourly, weekly and annual earnings are lower in Hackney than across London, but are higher than the British average. However, this hides an interesting disparity between male and female workers. Male workers in Hackney earn on average £2.46 per hour less than the London male average, and only 39 pence more per hour than the male average for Britain. In terms of annual earnings, this means male workers in Hackney earn £5145.00 less per year than the London average.

Unusually, Hackney’s female residents earn 70 pence per hour more than male residents, and for full-time workers, this earnings gap increases to £1.65 per hour. Hackney’s female full-time workers also earn higher weekly wages, averaging £29.20 more per week than full-time working men.

This goes against the pattern found in London and Britain as a whole, where men earn more than women, with the result that Hackney women earn more than either the regional or national median. However, this does not translate into women earning more than men on an annual basis.

Hackney’s female workers earn on average £1,449 per annum less than their male counterparts. Women are more likely to work part-time than men, and hourly rates of pay are lower for part-time workers than for full-time, both regionally and nationally.




The 9550 people in the borough as a whole is 6.7% of the working population.

Recent unemployment stories on Blood and Property here:
http://bloodandproperty.blogspot.com/search/label/unemployment

In the Guardian:

Council's are not prepared for the next wave of the recession - according to the Audit Commission.

Unemployed in Hackney: The lull before the storm

Can local authorities learn from history?