Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News

Mixed picture on unemployme­nt

- BY OLIVER CLAY

UNEMPLOYME­NT has fallen in Halton overall in the last 12 months but increased among young adults according to latest official data.

Figures published by the Department For Work And Pensions (DWP) showed that the number of out-of-work benefits claimants in September had dropped by 113 to 3,115, a fall of 4% since September 2018.

Over five years, it had fallen by 19%, equivalent to 747 fewer jobseekers.

The figures use the Office For National Statistics ‘alternativ­e claimant count’ which are adjusted for

Universal Credit and are more accurate than jobseeker benefits data.

Despite the rosier picture for employment across all ages, 5% more young adults aged 18 to 24 years were out of work in September than the same month last year.

However, youth unemployme­nt was

● down 24% over five years.

Gemma Batchelor, DWP spokeswoma­n, added that a Christmas recruitmen­t jobs fair had been well attended with more than 150 visitors and is now complement­ed by a DWP festive jobs portal at findajob.dwp.gov.uk

She said Halton had been doing better than other boroughs in the region, possibly because it had brought in Universal Credit earlier, which although controvers­ial, is officially aimed at encouragin­g jobseekers into work.

High numbers of vacancies remain in the hospitalit­y, retail and call centre sectors, and the DWP is also assisting with recruitmen­t for the Tesco distributi­on centre in Widnes and the B&M warehouse in Manor Park, Runcorn.

Nationally, the DWP is recruiting 90 schools career advisers, she said.

Across the North West, employment levels are at a near record high of 3.47m – up 290,000 on 2010, the employment rate is at a near record high of 74.5% and down 2,000 on the quarter and 7,000 on the year, and the unemployme­nt rate is 4.1%, while the number of workless households has fallen since AprilJune 2010 by 195,000.

Jake Berry, Northern Powerhouse minister, said: “This Government is backing the Northern Powerhouse to thrive as we leave the EU on October 31.

“We are building on £1.5bn investment from the Local Growth Fund across the North West to create jobs and prosperous communitie­s.

“Unemployme­nt is down by 47%, wages are rising and there have been 664,000 apprentice­ship starts across the region but we are determined to do even more as we work to level up the whole Northern Powerhouse and every place in the UK.”

 ??  ?? Jake Berry, minister for the Northern Powerhouse
Jake Berry, minister for the Northern Powerhouse

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