Increase in Wirral Jobseekers' Allowance claimants (From Wirral Globe)

Increase in Wirral Jobseekers' Allowance claimants

12:29pm Wednesday 15th August 2012 in News By Craig Manning

THE number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance has risen in some parts of Wirral.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics released today show 8,660 people claimed the benefit in July, compared to 8,648 the previous month, meaning a rise of 12.

The number of claimants in Birkenhead increased by 20 to 3529 from 3509 the previous month. Wirral South saw an increase of one to 1162.

The number of claimants fell by 13 in Wirral West, taking the figure from 1,118 to 1105.

In Wallasey the number rose from 2860 to 2864.

The Office for National Statistics figures show that nationally, the numbers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 5,900 to 1.59 million last month.

Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South said: “The fall in unemployment at a national level is to be welcomed.

“But I wonder if this can be explained by an increase in employment in London, with businesses gearing up for the Olympics?

“And the number of people in part-time work, when they would prefer to be in full-time is at its highest level since 1992.

"These factors are masking the damaging affect that George Osborne’s double dip recession is having on our country.

“Here in Wirral the number of people on Job Seekers Allowance actually went up compared with the previous month. And unemployment amongst young people remains a significant problem.

“The number of people aged 18-24 on out-of-work benefits for over 12 months increased 10 per cent on last month, and is a staggering 1180 per cent higher than in July 2010 - just three months after the Tories and Lib Dems took power.

“I am coming to the conclusion that the Government might just not care if young people languish on the dole for years, as I am yet to see any urgent action taken to address this crisis.”

The Wirral figures come a day before Remploy's factory in Birkenhead is due to close, with the loss of more than 30 jobs.

Unemployment in the North West for the three months from April to June 2012 fell by 0.4 per cent to 9.1 per cent. The number of unemployed people fell by 10,000, to reach 319,000.

Wirral West MP Esther McVey said: “This is not just positive news for Wirral, it’s also positive for the north and nationwide.

“I think people have been taking stock and with everything that’s happened recently, particularly at Vauxhall’s, Unilever and Jaguar, there just seems to be a lot of confidence around. We need to keep going. We're still in tough times but are on the right road.

“Wirral has done incredibly well with its apprentice programme and we need to ensure this is maintained.”

On news that unemployment had fallen by 10,000 between April and June Ms McVey continued: “These are very encouraging figures. 69,000 more people are in work and 10,000 fewer people are out of work in the North West.

“There are still far too many people unemployed in our region. But with schemes like the Regional Growth Fund targeting our area, this Government is undoing decades of neglect under Labour and investing in the North West”

Cllr. Pat Hackett, Wirral cabinet member for regeneration and planning strategy, said: “Wirral’s JSA rate for July is 4.5% which is the best in the Liverpool City Region (LCR).

"Wirral has also seen a reduction in the overall number of claimants in the past year on JSA with numbers falling ahead of the regional and national averages.

“The Council is working hard to make Wirral the most business friendly borough with a dynamic and vibrant business base.

"This month will see many of our young people gain their A Level and GCSE results so that they can take their first steps into employment.

"That is why we will continue to work with partners to ensure our businesses receive the best business support so that they can strengthen the economy and create more jobs.”