Jobless totals buck the trend
Jobless figures in Wishaw and Motherwell have bucked the positive Scottish trend.
While the number of out-of-work young people in the Wishaw and Motherwell area who are claiming benefits has dipped by four per cent, the total number of claimants in the area has risen by seven per cent.
In July, 430 people aged 18 to 24 in the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency area were claiming Job Seekers Allowance or Universal Credit – that’s 20 fewer than in July last year.
The total number of claimants in the area last month was 2130 – that’s 135 more than the number of people claiming benefits in July last year.
The number of young claimants since 2010 has dropped by 650 – that’s 60 per cent.
And the five-year change has also seen a significant reduction among 18 to 24-year olds by 550, or 56 per cent.
The total number of people making claims has seen a 41 per cent drop (by 1452) and in the last five years, that number fell by 1215, or 36 per cent.
The trend differs across North Lanarkshire.
Last month, 1520 young people aged between 18 and 24 were claiming Universal Credit – that’s 60 more than the same period last year (four per cent).
Despite that increase, there are 2000 fewer young claimants in this age group than there were in 2010 – a drop of 57 per cent. In the last five years, that figure has seen a similar drop of 54 per cent (down 1780).
In North Lanarkshire last month, the total number of claimants was 7125 – a rise of 840 in the past year, or 13 per cent.
Since 2010 in the region, though, 4481 fewer unemployed residents are claiming benefits – a decrease of 39 per cent.
In the last five years, the total number of claimants plummeted by 4000 – that’s a drop of 36 per cent.
Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson said: “It is disappointing that these local figures do not mirror those nationally, where the unemployment rate across Scotland has decreased.
“Brexit uncertainty continues to hang over the economy and experts have predicted that leaving the Single Market and Customs Union will cost 80,000 jobs in Scotland.
“It is absolutely vital that the UK Government commits to remaining within the Single Market and Customs Union to protect jobs in Scotland.” People living in council homes across North Lanarkshire are being encouraged to give their views on the quality of the housing service they receive.
The face to face survey will be taking place through to the end of September.
Stephen Llewellyn, the council’s head of housing solutions, said: “I would encourage tenants to take part in this short survey to help us improve housing services for local people.
“We want opinions about all aspects of our housing service so we can see what is working well and what we could do better.”
Those people randomly selected to take part will receive a letter from the council advising that they have been chosen to take part and explaining the format it will take.
The surveys will be carried out in tenants’ homes.
The survey will involve approximately 400 households; will take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and all feedback from individual households will remain completely confidential.
The survey will be carried out by trained researchers from Research Resource, a research agency with over 20 years’ experience.