Regional trends study gives snapshot of North East life

Jun 25 2009 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

A snapshot of North East life covering everything from our lottery-playing habits to our exposure to crime was released yesterday.

The ‘regional trends’ study was published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), providing facts and figures on a range of subjects.

Paul Loraine takes a look at the figures

Key statistics
The North East had the lowest employment rate in the country at 70.2% in 2008. The region was also bottom of the list for median gross weekly earnings, with the average person earning around £420 a week in comparison to the national average of around £478.

The rate of crimes committed against households in the North East against the number of households was higher than anywhere else in the country.

A bright note came in the birth of new businesses, a process which was happening at a faster rate in the North East than anywhere outside London.

Crime and justice

While the number of violent attacks in the North East was smaller than elsewhere, the percentage of the population victimised at least once by a criminal was higher.

A total of 4.7% of the North East population were the victims of violent attacks at least once in 2007 and 2008 - the highest figure in the country. 7.1% of the region’s population were victims of personal crime in this period.

The North East did better in some areas with the rate of sexual offences, burglary and robbery all below the national averages.