Benefits claims down

Unemployment benefit claims fell slightly in South Lanarkshire last month, bucking the national trend.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that 13,025 people across the region were claiming unemployment benefit this June – down 1.7 per cent from 13,250 in May.

However, the figures represent a 90 per cent increase on the number of claims in South Lanarkshire for January (6830) as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and councillors warned the future looks bleak without further government intervention.

Liberal Democrats group leader, Cllr Robert Brown said:“It’s clear this threatens to be the worst economic challenge since the great depression of the 1930s.

“These figures confirm the aftermath of the Covid crisis will hit the Scottish economy harder than the rest of the UK.

“Worryingly, with many people in our communities still furloughed and having their wages paid by the UK Treasury, we probably still haven’t heard the worst of it.

Liberal Democrat councillors want South Lanarkshire to be a leader on restarting the local economy and recalibrating it to be fit for the future. We’re calling for the council to use every ounce of its economic clout to help prevent tragedies for local families.

“We need to sustain jobs in the long term. This means a clear focus on building capacity and developing skills demanded by sectors that will grow in the years ahead – including green jobs, social enterprises and products and services harnessing new technology.

“The proposed Lanarkshire Economic Forum urgently needs to get going, and the Scottish government must stop centralising everything and allow councils the freedom to act.”

Across Scotland, 215,180 people claimed unemployment benefit in June – up slightly from 214,550 in May.

In June, 6.2 per cent of working age adults in Scotland were claiming unemployment benefits – up from 6.1 per cent in May and 3.2 per cent in January.