Technically recession is two successive quarters of “negative growth”, so the first quarter in my stats isn’t part of the recession since the economy was stagnant (growth was 0%) and I suspect that we will be out of recession from the third quarter. However the effects continue long after and it’s not unusual to see occasional quarters of contraction.

I suspect you are right on the demographics in Wandsworth depressing the JSA figures. Some very back of the envelope calculations I did comparing older JSA figures against the actual unemployment figures showed that in the more affluent wards a lower proportion of unemployed people were claiming JSA. Not statistically valid (far too small a sample, before you even consider the other factors at play) but it certainly backs up my – and your – instinct.

Your final point is not lost. We do a lot to encourage small business, and have the Youth Enterprise Centre in Tooting, but we don’t specifically encourage start-ups in a particular sector, though we do look at this from time to time and when potential funding opportunities present themselves. There is something of a technology and creative centre in Wandsworth so it is something we would strongly consider.

The other caveat I would add is the number of people resident in Wandsworth paying tax but unable to claim JSA or similar benefits from the UK government. My very anecdotal evidence is Wandsworth does have a high portion of those types of people which would further improve the numbers (a little anyway).

And to bang on about my favourite hobby horse, Wandsworth should do more to attract entrepreneurial (read startups) from the Tech community.