Dole queues get shorter

UNEMPLOYMENT in Oldham has fallen in the last month but one in eight young people are still claiming benefits.

Official figures show 7,442 Oldhamers are claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance, down from 7,569 the previous month. It means 5.4 per cent of all people able to work are now claiming the benefit, compared with 4.4 per cent across the North-West and 3.8 in Britain as a whole.

A breakdown revealed the problem is stark among 18 to 24-year-olds who account for 2,530 of the total — a staggering 12.6 per cent of all those in the area.

Despite the fall in Oldham, this time last year there were 6,330 claimants across the borough. Nationally, claimants increased by 3,000 last month to 1.6 million, the ninth consecutive monthly rise.

Unemployment reached a 17-year high after another 128,000 joined the jobless ranks, taking the total to 2.64 million, the figures from the Office of National Statistics show.