Record high number of people out of work in city

ALMOST ONE IN TEN UNEMPLOYED

GRIM new figures reveal unemployment claims in Hull have hit a record high as the coronavirus pandemic continues to create economic chaos.

The latest data in the city shows there were an estimated 16,400 adults of working age claiming unemployment benefit in late August.

That is the equivalent to a claimant rate of 9.8 per cent compared to England’s national rate of 6.6 per cent.

The surge in numbers has been tracked since March when lockdown restrictions were first brought in to tackle rising coronavirus infection rates.

Compared to March, there were an additional 6,565 people in Hull claiming unemployment benefit in August - an increase of 66.5 per cent.

This included an extra 1,340 young people aged between 18 and 24.

The overall youth claimant rate in Hull in August was 12.3 per cent, the highest it has been since 2013.

However, the figures show the age group in Hull hardest hit by the economic slump created by the pandemic has been those aged between 35 and 39.

The total number of unemployment claimants in that age group went from 1,150 in March to 1,990 five months later, an astonishing 73 per cent jump.

A timelag in data showing the economic impact of Covid means figures for September are not yet available.

However, they are expected to show

In Hull there were an estimated 16,400 adults of working age claiming unemployment benefit in late August a continued rise in unemployment across all age groups in the city.

Latest estimates of furloughed employees in Hull suggest 38,500 people were still on furlough at the end of the August - the equivalent of just under a third of the overall workforce.

Applying regional furlough rates to employment data for Hull shows the sectors most reliant on furlough measures in the city include manufacturing, wholesale and retail, hospitality and food services and business adminstration.

The figures have been pulled together by Hull City Council’s economic development director Mark Jones for a presentation to councillors next week.

He said a total of £50.7m in grants had been paid out since March to nearly 4,400 small firms in Hull as well as companies in the city’s retail hospitality and lesiure sector to help keep them afloat.

In addition, a further 455 discretionary grants worth a total of £2.4m have been paid out to hospitality and leisure businesses in Hull.

Mr Jones said the council had now formally submitted an application to Job Centre Plus to take a minimum of 30 work placements under the Government’s Kickstart programme.

Under the scheme, jobless 16 to 24-year-olds will be given work placements for 25 hours per week while receiving the national minimum wage

Firms and organisations that host placements will receive £1,500 for each one to cover training expenses.