Jobless misery for thousands

THE number of people trapped in long-term unemployment continues to rise across Oldham — but the overall number on the dole is falling.

People claiming out-of-work benefits for more than a year is up to 2,090 from 2,040 last month and has risen month-on-month since April 2011.

Youth unemployment across the borough is also increasing. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows the number of jobless claimants aged 18-24 rose by 45 to 2,510.

But numbers on the dole are starting to fall, and there are still 1,317 jobs being advertised across the borough. Last month Oldham’s claimant count was 8,065 but has fallen to 8,039 — meaning 5.8 per cent of everyone able to work is looking for a job, compared with 4.4 per cent across the North-West and 3.8 nationally.

Nationally the number claiming job-seekers’ allowance (JSA) fell to 1.57 million in September.

Unemployment fell by 50,000 to 2.53 million in the three months to August.

Employment reached a record high of almost 30 million, while the unemployment rate fell to 7.9 per cent.



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