Increase in jobseekers since Gateway opened
THE jobseeker claimant count has increased across all but one Cheshire and Merseyside council area including Halton since the Mersey Gateway bridge opened.
Data published by the Office For National Statistics showed it had risen in nine areas, with only St Helens spared a drop.
In Halton, the number of residents claiming out of work benefits rose from 3.8% in October when the bridge opened to 4% in February.
Similar increases were across the two counties.
In Warrington, it rose from 2.24 to 2.4%; Cheshire West 1.5% to 1.8%; Cheshire East 1.2% to 1.5%; Knowsley 3.4% to 3.8%; Liverpool 3.5% to 3.6%; Wirral 2.2% to 2.4% and Sefton 2.5% to 3%.
Although correlation does not necessarily mean causation, the figures appear to be in stark contrast to the project job creation figures used to promote the £1.86bn bridge scheme before it opened, which regularly predicted that the project would create ‘4,640 permanent jobs’.
Some direct comparisons between October and February’s job statistics in Cheshire also might not be directly comparable where Universal Credit has been recorded ● rolled out during that time.
This does not include Halton where full service Universal Credit which was introduced in the borough in a pilot scheme in July 2016, nor any of the Merseyside council areas where UC is yet to be introduced.
The rise in the claimant count in Halton where the Mersey Gateway bridge is situated, and other parts of Cheshire and Merseyside is at odds with the national picture of record levels of employment as declared by the Government.
A Department For Work And Pensions spokesman said it can take time for the benefits of a large infrastructure scheme to kick in and start to show up in the job statistics.
He said there were many positive signs in the national labour market, including record female employment, the lowest rate of unemployment since 1975 and month-to-month stability in the healthy figures.
The spokesman added unemployment in the North West was 4.1%, down by 23,000 workers since this time last year.
Furthermore, in contrast to widespread public perceptions about the prevalence of zero-hours and short-term contracts, he said that over 70% of growth in the labour market has been in permanent roles.
Merseylink was approached for comment.