Member Article

Jobseeker figures continue to fall in Greater Manchester

Fewer people claimed Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in Greater Manchester in May, with a 1.8% decrease of 1,500 people.

The North West saw a 2.6% decrease in JSA claimants in comparison with a 2.8% fall across Great Britain.

Greater Manchester’s proportion of residents of working age who are claiming JSA is still above the North West average at 4.7% against 4.1% for the whole region.

Across the whole of the country this figure was 3.6% for May, while the number of youth JSA claimants declined in Manchester by approximately 650 people.

Year-on-year the number of JSA claimants was 14.1% lower in Greater Manchester than this time last year, while there was an increase in long-term claimants in the conurbation by 0.8%.

Annually, the number of long-term claimants is relatively the same, while the North West saw a 0.6% fall and Great Britain has a 0.7% decline in long-term claimants.

Baron Frankal, director of economic strategy at Manchester think tank, New Economy, said: “Today’s unemployment benefit data adds to the weight of tentative evidence that, within the small ups and downs the economy will be experiencing over the next years, we seem finally to have found an upswing that everyone will quickly label “recovery”.

“The news that inflation has fallen for the first time since Autumn 2012 is part of this narrative, as is the continued success of Greater Manchester’s services industry and the continued resilience of our manufacturing sector.

“Jobseeker rates remain very poor though, and still well within the realm of a long-term generational challenge, but this change in direction, however slight, is to be welcomed, and it looks increasingly like in a small way it can be sustained.

“There are still many counter-indicators of course, such as the weak lending figures released last week by the UK’s central bank.

“Access to finance for Greater Manchester’s business base remains a huge issue, and an underlying theme that contributes toward the prevention of expansion and so job creation that would help make the employment figures even better.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .