The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Virus sends jobs total spiralling
Spike evidence of economic damage caused by Covid-19
The number of people in Perth and Kinross who are jobless doubled in April, council bosses have revealed.
The area previously had one of Scotland’s lowest unemployment rates but last month saw a 94% increase in those registered as being out of work.
With energy giants and major employers Ovo looking at cutting hundreds of jobs and more than 80 jobs at Fishers laundry plant in Perth at risk, the situation could get worse before it gets better.
“Recovery and renewal plans” were privately discussed by Perth and Kinross councillors at yesterday’s digital meeting as the local authority looks to bounce back.
The spike in unemployment is tangible evidence of the economic damage caused by coronavirus, according to Deputy First Minister John Swinney.
Talks have been held to mitigate the rising toll of job losses in Perth and Kinross.
The number of people in the district who are unemployed nearly doubled last month, council chief executive Karen Reid confirmed yesterday.
The city was also rocked on Tuesday by the news OVO – which bought the domestic arm of power firm SSE earlier this year – could be shedding scores of jobs from its Perth contact centre.
This news came just days after laundry firm Fishers began the mandatory consultation period needed before following through on plans to cut 84 jobs at their Fair City plant.
More than 29,000 Jobseekers’ Allowance claimants and out-of-work Universal Credit claimants were recorded across the Tayside and Fife last month, compared with just 18,490 in March.
The 57% increase across the area since the impact of the pandemic set in is dwarfed by some constituencies such as Perth and North Perthshire, which has seen claimant levels soar by 87% and 82% respectively.
The figures, confirmed via the House of Commons Library, should be the catalyst for a wider debate about the income available to struggling individuals and families up and down the UK, it has been claimed.
Ms Reid said the council’s recovery and renewal plans were privately discussed in detail by all elected representatives yesterday.
She said: “We do recognise that we’ve seen an over 200% increase in terms of welfare rights payments and a 247% increase in the expenditure paid out.
“We are very much aware of the impact that Covid-19 is having across our community in terms of the job losses that are being announced.
“(On Tuesday) as well as the very sad news about OVO and SSE Energy deploying a voluntary redundancy scheme, we were also made aware of the unemployment statistics.
“In Perth and Kinross, we have seen a 94% increase in unemployment in one month during April.
“We’ve gone from 2% unemployment, which was the seventh lowest in
Scotland, to 3.9% in a very short period of time.”
Working with partner agencies is key to bouncing back, according to Ms Reid.
“Clearly, our focus must be on economic recovery and how we best support the most vulnerable in our society,” she added.
“We cannot do that on our own and we need to build on the amazing work that’s happening across our communities.
“We must work with our partners in the community planning partnership to maximise the approach that we have.”
Perthshire North MSP John Swinney said the figures were “further confirmation” coronavirus’s economic legacy will be “significant and painful.”
“We must be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things if we are to rebuild our society in a way that works for everyone,” he said.
“The Social Justice and Fairness Commission is reflecting on these issues, and is asking the public to take part in an open consultation. I would encourage my constituents to make their views known to the commission on how we can best emerge from this crisis.”