Kentish Express Ashford & District
Unemployment rises in every part of Kent
The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in Kent and Medway increased in every part of the county in February, figures published last week reveal.
Unemployment claims rose by 3,435 compared to January a 5.1% rise - bringing the total to 70,095.
That’s the most it has been since September.
Medway, which is the biggest council area in the county, has the largest number of claims.
With 12,110, it also saw the highest rise, with 635 more cases than in January.
The second highest increase was seen in Maidstone, where there were 320 more claims.
Thanet has the second highest number of claims at 8,145.
Dover saw the lowest increase with just 165 more people claiming unemployment benefits in February.
And Sevenoaks has the lowest number of claims at 3,025.
Neighbouring Gravesham and Dartford saw a combined monthly increase of almost 500 with the former now seeing 4,955 claimants and the latter 4,085.
Claims have risen by 37,965 (118.1%) year-on-year with 32,130 made in February 2020, when the total was the highest the county had seen in 19 months.
The following month, lockdown was ordered by PM Boris Johnson.
Unemployment has been fluctuating since it reached 72,952 in May last year as businesses struggle to cope with staying closed for much of the last 12 months.
Between December and January, claims dipped by 2.7% but last month’s rise of 5.1% represents the largest since it spiked last spring.
Jo James, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, said: “Until the economy starts to open up, no business is going to know what the demand is so we’re going to expect to see these fluctuations.
“Then of course, by end of September, we’ve got the furlough scheme coming to an end - so we’re going to see quite a shift
there which probably will go on for a couple of months.
“I think we’re not going to see too much consistency until the end of the year.
“I think unemployment will start to climb. We all expected a rise since furlough was going to end back in January, but we’ve just been delaying it.
“But now there are positive signs with the government coming out with schemes to look at retraining an existing workforce to look into new markets, help with additional skills and the Kickstart scheme for young people 16 to 24. There are opportunities for people.”
Meanwhile, despite Swale having the third most unemployment claims, it’s main centre Sittingbourne - has been named the third most resilient town in England.
It is said to be bouncing back because of its local workers according to a survey by London-based retail consultancy, CWM.
Council leader Cllr Roger Truelove (Lab) said he was not surprised it was more resilient than most and credited “the strong concentration of supermarkets and the fact they have been well used over the last year”.
“An added factor, too, is the fact that so many people are working from home and likely to spend more in the town than when they were travelling to London to work,” he added.
“In this there is great opportunity for the future with people working from home and buying their lunch in town and using the improved opportunities for leisure.”