Young facing more time on the dole

THE number of long-term unemployed young people has risen by more than 300 in the past year — as dole queues across Oldham continue to grow.

The latest monthly count shows there were 7,936 people across Oldham claiming out-of-work benefits in July, up from 7,747 the previous month.

A quarter of the total have been unemployed for more than a year. Youth unemployment remains a problem across the area, with 2,430 youngsters aged 18-24 claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance. This means an average of one in eight of that age group is unemployed — 385 of them out of work for more than a year, compared with 75 people in July last year.

Nationally the number claiming JSA fell by 5,900 to 1.59 million in July.

Unemployment fell by 46,000 to 2.56 million in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

There are currently 1,035 jobs being advertised across Oldham.

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