Area still unemployment hotspot as numbers rise

The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Rutherglen and Cambuslang has increased every month for the past three months.

Figures – published by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) – show the number of people claiming universal credit (UC) and job seeker’s allowance (JSA) has steadily increased every month, from 885 in December to 955 in February.

In the past month alone, the number of people receiving these benefits increased by 55, a jump of six per cent.

But the DWP says many of these people are employed and remain on UC because they are in part-time work.

They say the roll out of UC has skewed the figures, which previously only included those who were fit and looking for work.

In Rutherglen 470 people are receiving either JSA or UC and in Cambuslang the total claimant count is 485.

The total claimant count across the two towns was 712 in February 2016. It is now 955.

But Peter Glenn, a DWP job centre manager, said the number of people claiming unemployment benefit has not jumped by 35 per cent, as the figures suggest.

He said:“The people that have started part-time work have stayed on UC and those on the new employment support allowance, they also stay on universal credit, so the increase of five to six per cent in the past three months sounds reasonable [because of that].

“It seems we are in a steady state in terms of unemployment, it certainly does not seem to be increasing.”

Across the UK the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.7 per cent – the lowest level in 12 years.

Separate figures, also released earlier this month, show more than one million claims have been made to UC. Of the 410,000 households now receiving UC, around two-thirds are in work.

Minister for employment, Damian Hinds, said:“I’m delighted by another set of record-breaking figures showing more people in work than ever before and unemployment falling to its lowest in 12 years.

“There’s good news in Scotland where there are a near record 2.61 million people now in work. Unemployment has fallen by 42,000 in the last year and hasn’t been lower since mid-2008.

“But we have more to do, which is why we’re pressing ahead with our welfare reforms to ensure that it always pays to be in work.”

We are pressing hard with welfare reforms