Agenda item

The Economic Evidence Manager presented the report.

Discussion covered the following points:

• Unemployment: Different council areas have different unemployment counts with Bradford and Leeds being higher than the others, Bradford being double the national average and one of the highest in the country – linked to historical issues around the decline of the mill industry. Youth unemployment is a particular concern to Members. Unemployment in general has improved since the pandemic, when it was 10%. CA programmes aim to make an impact through jobs/skills programmes, and on the new workforce coming from the school system through colleges and Adult Education Budget and in connecting businesses to universities. Successful programmes which reduced unemployment elsewhere required the resources to have staff go into communities and engage directly identifying ‘NEETs’ and linking them with existing support services.

• Health: One possible barrier to people getting into, or back into, work is health. Many assume health barriers mainly impact older workers, but data shows the most effected are over-60s and also the youngest cohort who struggle, especially with mental health barriers. It’s possible the youngest cohort are those most comfortable in admitting to these issues compared to other age groups. CA has less influence over direct health matters, but some impact can be made on adjacent areas such as housing quality, transport/pollution etc.

• Over 50s returning to work: Some over-50s are happily retired/semi-retired, but many were pressured or forced out of work. Many councils around the country have set up schemes, e.g. Deliveroo work for over-50s, which don’t appear to have made an impact. Others who tried to get back into work, were unable to get back in at similar salaries as before, regardless of their experience, which has been a barrier. Part of the issue is the lack of clear evidence/data as to why this is the case and still require further study e.g. the pandemic simply accelerating previous trends, such as focus on ‘quality of life’. Some argue that it is more socially advantageous for older retirees to be more active in communities and families e.g. supporting younger working parents with childcare and other communal volunteering.

• Childcare: A major factor impacting people’s decision to work, or work fulltime is childcare, and those who cannot afford it full time rely on flexible working, part time work, or older relatives to support them – who would then also need to be working flexibly or not at all. Any solution to helping enable more workers to return to work must involve support for working parents.

• AI and digitalisation: PursuingAI and digitalisation for the sake of AI and digitalisation shouldn’t be the strategy, as AI is only as good as the data input into it and is subject to the same biases as other systems. Digitalisation without the necessary infrastructure and connectivity will leave people behind. A study has also been commissioned to produce a deep dive into the impact of artificial intelligence as the current outlook is highly uncertain. To date, aggregate employment has not been affected by AI but the growth of the AI sector is large.

• Green Economy: It is estimated that the green economy would need to double in size to meet the 2038 target. 9% of the total jobs in West Yorkshire are classified as high carbon jobs. Green jobs are not just those directly working on green infrastructure like turbines or renewable energy but come in many forms, and a clear definition and categorisation is needed.

• Investment Zones update: South Yorkshire and Liverpool City Region CAs have already determined and announced their investment zones. There are 5 gateways, and the CA is currently working on gateway 3 (tax, investment and business rate incentives to attract business). Gateway 4 involves the interventions/policies needed to attract businesses and the benefits. It was hoped that the Combined Authority would be able to agree details/incentives with Government before the Autumn Statement and an update can be provided in future.