Alarm at rising demand for unemployment benefits in East Renfrewshire

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in East Renfrewshire has more than doubled in the last two months.
East Renfrewshire saw unemployment numbers more than double in a two-month period.East Renfrewshire saw unemployment numbers more than double in a two-month period.
East Renfrewshire saw unemployment numbers more than double in a two-month period.

The Labour Party and charities are calling for more support to stop people being pulled into poverty by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Office for National Statistics data shows ​2,300 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in East Renfrewshire as of May 14, compared to 970 in early March.

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It means the share of the population signing on rose from 1.7 per cent to 4.0 per cent.

East Renfrewshire’s claimant rate was still lower than the 6.2 per cent across Scotland as a whole.

The ONS figures count those aged 16 to 64 who are on Jobseekers Allowance and some Universal Credit claimants.

Across the UK, the claimant count more than doubled to 2.7 million on May 14, with separate ONS figures showing the figure stood at 2.8 million for the whole month – the highest since 1993.

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The ONS cautioned that changes to Universal Credit in response to the virus mean more people could get unemployment-related benefits while still being employed, which could affect the figures.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds is calling for an urgent “back to work budget” to support jobs through the economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus.

She said: “The Government was too slow to recognise the scale of the health crisis from coronavirus and we are already paying the economic price.

“The window is closing to protect existing jobs and encourage firms to invest in creating new ones.”

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Anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the Government should particularly focus on creating jobs in places that have seen the biggest increases in unemployment, and give people opportunities to gain new skills.

Dave Innes, head of economics at the foundation, said: “Alongside this, the Government should also boost benefits so that people are not pulled into poverty if they lose their jobs.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the priority was to drive the recovery by getting businesses open and people back to work.

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