Jobless toll jumps by 700

THE number of people out of work in Oldham rose by almost 700 in January, according to the latest figures.

The increase — after successive falls since September last year — however, was expected as people came off short-term contracts and festive working.

There are now 7,582 people out of work in Oldham, up by 696 on the December numbers, with the majority of new claimants being men, up 534 to 5,692.

The number of women out of work also rose, by 162 to 1,890.

This represents 5.7 per cent of the borough’s working population and compares unfavourably with the regional percentage of 4.9 and the national rate of 4.3.

Nationally, unemployment in the latest quarter fell by 3,000 to 2.46 million. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of people in employment fell by 12,000 to just under 29 million.

There was a drop of 37,000 in full–time employment, offset by a 25,000 increase in part–time employment.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by 23,500 last month to reach the highest level since Labour came to power in 1997.

The claimant count increased to 1.64 million in January, the highest figure since April, 1997.

Long–term unemployment, covering those out of work for more than a year, increased by 37,000 in the quarter to December to 663,000, the highest since 1997. The number of people classed as economically inactive reached a record high of 8.08 million, more than 21 per cent of the working age population.