Progress is being made in creating more jobs across the North East, a new report has revealed, but the employment gap with the rest of the country has widened.
The latest annual review from the North East LEP shows the body is still some way off its 2024 target to create 100,000 jobs since 2014, having suffered setbacks amid the massive disruption wrought on the economy be Covid. Jobs data in the review shows North East employment was 59,600 higher than at the start of 2014 - meaning the LEP is about three-fifths of its way to the headline target.
The latest figures for 2022 showed the pandemic's impact as total employment was about 10,000 lower than in 2020, despite an increasing during the year. Painting a mixed picture, the report said that while employment in "better jobs" - a key criteria of the LEP's plan - had bounced back more effectively from Covid than other occupations, overall employment had grown at a slower pace than the rest of England, excluding London.
