Find a job fast, is new rule for unemployed

THOUSANDS of jobless Oldham will be forced to attend interviews within weeks of claiming benefits, Government is expected to say.

According to the Office of National Statistics more than 4,500 people are claiming Job Seekers Allowance in Oldham — 3.4 per cent of the town’s population.

Under the latest crackdown to get people back into work, the claimants would be forced to answer questions about their situation much sooner than the current 13th week of claiming.

It is expected the time period could be reduced by as much as half.

And they would also have to attend interviews with Job Centre advisers every week rather than fortnightly.

Anyone missing their interview could face losing some of their benefit money. People will also be told to be more flexible about the employment they want.

Ministers have long argued the longer someone stays out of the labour market the harder it is to get back into employment. Labour say it is proud 60 per cent of people get off JSA within 13 weeks.

A source said the change was about helping people more quickly but also means an increased responsibility for people to go and find work, as ministers did not believe people wanted to be out of employment.

A source told the Chronicle: “It is crucial that people do not become disconnected from the job market which is why we are looking at how to give people the help they need to get back into work more quickly.

“It is not about being tough on people who are looking for work but can’t find a job. It’s about helping them stay in touch with the labour market, and take up the support on offer to get back to work quickly. We will not write people off as they were in the 1980s and 90s.

“Additional support could include helping people access tailored help from personal advisers more quickly to develop job search plans.”

According to the Department for Work and pensions there are 8,240 job vacancies across Greater Manchester known to the Job Centre Plus.

Nationally, JCP hold on average a third of all vacancies, the rest are through recruitment agencies meaning there could be more than 24,000 vacancies across the region.

The crackdown comes as Oldham bucked the national trend last week with unemployment in the town falling.

Figures revealed while nationally unemployment reached an 11 year high, 76 fewer people were unemployed in Oldham compared with the previous month.