127,000 OUT OF WORK
>>Scottish job losses worst in UK with 30,000 more on the dole >>Unemployment rate rising faster than Great Depression
THE number of Scots out of work has rocketed by 30,000 to 127,000, it was revealed yesterday.
The figures give Scotland the UK’s worst jobless rate.
They emerged as a think-tank warned that unemployment could be rising faster than during the first year of the Great Depression of the 30s.
NICOLA Sturgeon has said there will be no “reckless relaxation” of lockdown restrictions – despite fears that unemployment could be rising faster than in the first year of the Great Depression.
The First Minister admitted Scotland’s jobless number was “deeply concerning” after figures out yesterday revealed the total looking for work rose by 30,000 from February to April to 127,000 – while the number of vacancies across the UK fell to a record low.
The unemployment rate north of the Border in the three months up to April was 4.6 per cent – up 1.1 percentage points on the previous quarter – and above the UK rate of 3.9 per cent.
The figures reflect the impact of a month of lockdown, which started on March 23.
The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) warned the numbers looking for work could rival those during the Great Depression in the 1930s – and that UK-wide unemployment could top three million this summer.
Sturgeon will make a statement today on entering phase two of lockdown, which will include a date for
BY CHRIS McCALL chris.mccall@reachplc.com when more non-essential shops can reopen.
Businesses that can’t operate remotely, such as factories, workshops and construction sites, will also be given the green light for getting back to work.
But the SNP leader said she would resist demands to deviate from the Scottish Government’s route map out of lockdown.
Speaking at her daily media briefing, Sturgeon admitted increased economic anxiety would lead some to argue for a quicker than planned exit from lockdown.
She added: “I absolutely understand that.
“But difficult though all of this is, we must guard against a reckless relaxation of lockdown measures. Because if we ease restrictions too quickly and allow the virus to run out of control again, that would be economically counterproductive, but it would also cost many more lives.”
Sturgeon said: “These unemployment figures being reported today, that only cover up to the end of April, are themselves deeply concerning. But there is a danger they mask the full impact of this crisis.
“Many people will still be in employment right now, but their continuation in employment is dependent on the furlough scheme.
“If that is withdrawn before it is safe to do so, the danger is unemployment rises even further in the next few months.”
IES director Tony Wilson said the sharp rise in unemployment was the biggest jobless spike in recorded history in the UK.
He said: “If the public health crisis is just starting to ease, today’s figures show that the unemployment crisis is only just beginning.
“The figures released on Tuesday morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) paint a bleak picture of the state of the labour market.
“After Friday’s news that we
are on course for the largest recession in three centuries, today we have learned that the number of people unemployed and claiming benefits is rising faster than at any point in our history.”
He added: “First, claimant unemployment – a measure of all of those who are unemployed and claiming social security benefits – has risen by 1.6million in two months, to 2.8million.
“This is the highest level since 1993 – 1.2million higher than the last recession and the largest increase since unemployment benefits were created nearly 100 years ago.
“Even in the first year of the Great Depression, unemployment only rose by one million.
“Furthermore, we estimate that based on applications for benefits in May, claimant unemployment likely stands at about 3.1million as of
June 9 – probably beating the previous highest-ever level, set in 1986.”
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: “It is deeply concerning that Scotland’s working population is already suffering so much at the very start of this economic crisis.
“The reality is that just as Scotland was unprepared for the public health crisis, so Scotland is also unprepared for the economic crisis.”