‘THINGS ARE STILL GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION’
Concerns that end of furlough will lead to a rise in unemployment
THE number of people claiming Universal Credit in Staffordshire has more than doubled since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
An economic bulletin presented to county councillors showed claimant numbers leapt by 14,415 – 119.6 per cent – in the county between March and July. In Stoke-on-trent, the number of claimants increased by 5,655
(77.3 per cent).
The authority is expecting to see a rise in unemployment as the Government’s furlough scheme comes to an end this month. At the latest Prosperous Staffordshire Select Committee meeting, members said the
Government should be urged to extend furlough measures beyond October.
The bulletin presented to the committee said: “The claimant count rate is still relatively low in Staffordshire.
“However, it is young people, the lowest paid and part-time workers who continue to feel the impact of the economic shock the most. It remains vital that these groups are supported to help prevent them becoming long-term unemployed.
“Although unemployment and those claiming benefits has not surged over more recent months, this is largely due to the considerable number of workers which remain on the Governmentbacked furlough scheme.
“There is concern that as the furlough scheme winds down and already-announced potential job cuts become a reality, there are likely to be more people out of work.”
Councillor Ian Parry, left, said: “We have had updates which seem to suggest things are still going in the wrong direction. In Staffordshire, things have probably become a bit worse.
“The latest figures suggested we had one of the highest levels of furloughed staff across the West Midlands – almost 25 per cent of working-age population.”
Councillor Philip White responded:“we do have a large number of workers who are on furlough still.
“However, our unemployment rate remains much lower than both the national and regional average.
“The question is whether that is a seasonal variation, with some unemployment coming to an end that would happen in any year, or whether it is a trend. My view is the furlough scheme coming to an end is likely to see an increase in unemployment.
“The question is what effect that has on the Staffordshire economy and then, of course – crucially – what do we do to minimise the effects of Covid-19 and the end of furlough.”
Councillor White highlighted a number of schemes already in place to assist Staffordshire businesses and workers – such as the redundancy task force group.
He said: “We have made £500,000 of emergency grants to micro-businesses to help them pay their bills in the short to medium term, we have provided PPE starter packs to another 2,000 micro businesses to help them get up and running over the summer.”