Threats of negative reviews

Here is the Pembrokeshire Press Release for April 2024:

In Pembrokeshire, the DWP teams in Jobcentres are continuing to support many employers in various sectors who are still advertising for staff to meet the needs of the business. At this time of year, the pressure is on the retail and hospitality sectors to increase their recruitment drives to ensure that their businesses are meeting the needs of the Pembrokeshire population as well as all of those visitors who see West Wales as an excellent holiday destination. Fred Hatton of the DWP Employer and Partnership Team said, “Any time is a good time to begin your career in an employment sector that interests you. So why not start that ball rolling now. You may need a bit of support to achieve your goals. So, if you are unsure of your next step, seek support and guidance from your Jobcentre Work Coach if you are a benefit claimant; if not, contact Careers Wales who will guide you through the steps you may need to take. For those who seek employment in the care sector, plans are in place for a county wide Social Care Jobsfair in the Pembrokeshire A rch ives Haverfordwest on 14 May. Jobcentre work coaches play an increasingly important role by supporting businesses to fill their vacancies, while helping more people to get ready to enter or return to the jobs market. Providing every jobseeker with the support that suits their individual needs is key to this. Our message is that work coaches are there to help people to make a positive difference to their lives. There are plenty of unfilled posts across the UK with overall vacancies totalling more than 900,000, which remains well above pre-pandemic levels.”

WALES

The number of people employed is at 1.411 million, down 42,000 on the quarter and down 14,000 on the year.

The employment rate (16-64) is at 69.1%, down 2.3%pts on the quarter and down 2.8%pts on the year.

The number of people unemployed is at 55,000 – up 7,000 on the quarter and up 3,000 on the year.

T h e unemployment rate is at 3.7%, up 0.5%pts on the quarter and up 0.3%pts on the year.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP said:

“We’ve seen long term sickness related inactivity rise since the pandemic, that’s why we introduced our £2.5bn Back to Work Plan to transform lives and grow the economy.

“Our welfare reforms will cut the number of people due to be placed in the highest tier of incapacity benefits by over 370,000. As millions are benefiting from this month’s huge boost to the

National Minimum Wage, it is work, not welfare, that delivers the best financial security for British households.”

Background:

• Our £2.5bn Back to Work Plan will help over a million people find and stay in rewarding roles, ensuring everyone reaches their potential. The OBR estimates that measures from the Spring Budget and previous two fiscal events will increase the size of the economy by 0.7% by 2028-29. This is through increasing total hours worked by the equivalent of more than 300,000 fulltime workers and boosting business investment by £14billion.

Our National Insurance cuts will benefit the average worker by £900 and we have increased the National Living Wage this month as we make work pay. There are 3.9 million more people in work than in 2010.

The estimate of pay rolled employees in the UK for March 2024 was at nearly 30.3m, up 204,000 on the year alongside eight months of above inflation wage growth.

Our inactivity rate is lower than the average for the G7 and the EU.