Temps distort job figures

UNEMPLOYMENT totals in Oldham have fallen for the second successive month — signalling a traditional economic lift in the run-up to Christmas.

The number of temporary staff taken on in the months immediately preceding the festive season tend to distort the figures.

A true reading will come with the release of the January, 2010, figures, which won’t be known until mid-February.

The number of people out of work in Oldham dropped by 281 in the last count to 6,896, the lowest total since July, when the number was last below 7,000. There are 5,181 men looking for work, a drop of 238, and 1,715 women, a fall of 43.

Unemployment has fallen in every Greater Manchester borough apart from Salford.

Samantha Barker, policy manager for employment and skills at Greater Manchester Chamber, said: “With the festive season fast approaching, many companies will be taking on extra staff to cope with the increased demand for goods in certain sectors.”

Nationally, youth unemployment reached a record high as the jobless figure nudged 2.5 million, the worst total since the mid-1990s. The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work was 952,000 in the three months to October, a quarterly rise of 6,000 and the highest figure since records began in 1992.

Britain’s unemployment rate has now reached a 13-year high of 7.9 per cent increasing by 21,000 between August and October to 2.49 million.