Number of people claiming Jobseekers in Plymouth goes up by 300

PLYMOUTH saw a hike in the number of people on the dole last month official figures show.

The city’s jobless total rose by more than 300 from 5,787 in December to 6,136 in January. However, this is down on the 6,944 claimants recorded for the same month last year.

Surrounding areas also saw increases on the month.

In Cornwall, the claimant count went from 9,955 to 10,609 in January.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013

And in South Hams the number of people on Jobseekers Allowance rose from 749 to 778.

Unemployment across the South West fell by 6,000 to 150,000 in the quarter to December, giving a jobless rate of 5.5 per cent, which remains the lowest in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Across the UK, almost 30 million people were in work at the end of 2012, an increase of 154,000 on the quarter to September, and the highest total since records began in 1971.

Unemployment, including those not eligible for benefit, fell by 14,000 in the final quarter of last year to 2.5 million - 156,000 lower than a year ago.

But youth unemployment increased by 11,000, the highest rise for a year, and the number of people with more than one job increased by 41,000 to 1.1 million.

The number of people classed as economically inactive, including long-term sick, people looking after a family or those who have given up looking for work, fell below nine million, the lowest figure since the autumn of 2006.

The ONS also reported a continued cut in the real value of pay, with average earnings increasing by 1.4 per cent in the year to December, down by 0.1 per cent on the previous month. Regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 1.3 per cent, the lowest figure since the end of 2009.

The ONS noted that CPI inflation was running at 2.7 per cent last year, with the annual growth in weekly wages staying below inflation since the middle of 2008.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith pointed to figures showing a 15,000 fall in the number of people out of work for over a year, to 879,000.

He said: “The fall in long-term unemployment is particularly welcome and shows that the training and support we are offering is helping people move off benefits and into work.

“These figures show another big increase in full-time jobs, half a million more British people in work over the past year and more women in employment than ever before.”

Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, said: “That we have mass unemployment of two and a half million five years into this recession is waste on a grand scale. To this must be added the millions in enforced temporary and part time jobs and those massively underemployed. What is tragic is that there is no light at the end of the tunnel as we are in the middle of a triple dip recession.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STATISTICAL INFORMATION RELEASE