Are the North East's improved jobs figures a levelling up success story?

The latest official figures show the unemployment rate in the North East was 4.2% between April and June - exactly level with the UK average.

So, is that a 'levelling up' success story?

Conservative MPs have been making that kind of point in recent months.

The government told ITV Tyne Tees: “Ensuring people have access to good jobs in the communities where they live... is an important part of levelling up."

Between April and June 2015, figures from the Office for National Statistics show unemployment was at 8.1% in the North East, compared to 5.6% for the UK as a whole.

So the region has clearly caught up in those terms over the last few years.

Rachel Anderson, from the North East England Chamber of Commerce, said: "On pure numbers that is something to be celebrated, but I think there is a much more complex picture here, and if we're to talk about true levelling up then we need to make sure that people in the North East are equipped and are getting the jobs that are coming here, and that really is about making sure that our skills base is right, and that we've got things like transport and infrastructure that makes people able to access those jobs."

North Tyneside Council say their 'Working Well' scheme, has played a part in giving people advice and support to get work.

Councillor Karen Clark said: "We've had over 4,000 people access the service which has far exceeded original expectations, and over half of them, 57%, have progressed into employment or education, which is phenomenal.

"Some of them have been disengaged from the labour market for long periods of time."

Maureen Wright from Westray Recruitment Group, said green energy, life sciences and business services are particularly growing sectors in the region.

However, she warned that a tight labour market has meant problems with recruitment.

"The number of applications we're seeing is going down dramatically," she added.

You've also got to keep an eye on the quality of jobs being created, with previous statistics showing average wages in the North East are notably lower than the UK average, and the cost-of-living crisis of course still hurting.

Another important figure is the number of people who are economically inactive, meaning they are not looking for work.

That has also typically been high in our region, partly attributed to long-term conditions due to many people having worked in heavy industry.

However, the difference in the inactivity rate has also been closing, and now stands at 21.9% in the North East, just above the UK average of 20.9%.

What's also very hard to quantify behind all of this is to what extent the government deserves the credit for the changing picture.

• Researched and produced by Tom Sheldrick and Madeleine Letherby

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