Gordon Brown’s economic miracle doesn’t seem to show any sign of slowing.  My observation that the rate of increase seemed to have slowed last month was shown to be idle conjecture this month as the rate grew again.

JSA claimants May 08 - May 09

I will continue to say that Wandsworth seems to be weathering the recession better than most places.  There are a lot of reasons to be confident, indeed, part of my spot at Balham last Thursday was to highlight the reasons we should be positive in Wandsworth.  But that does not mean we aren’t being hit by the recession, nor does it make it any easier for those who are losing their jobs.

The Wandsworth total of Jobseekers Allowances claimaints (i.e. people who have signed on as unemployed, and excluding those who are unemployed but have chosen not to register) rose to 6,430 – a rate of 3.1%.  As I say every month, this still compares favourably to the London and national rates of 4.2% and 4.1% respectively.

The total was 341 higher than last month and 2,656 higher than this time last year, increases of 5.6% and 70.4% respectively.

2 thoughts on “Unemployment claims continue to increase in Wandsworth

  1. Interesting facts! My recruitment company has recently opened a branch in Wandsworth on Battersea Park Road. We work on projects funded by the ESF to get the people of Wandsworth back into employment through the initiative local jobs for local people.
    What is worrying is the number of those unemployed aged 16-25 and the lack of work experience they have. It saddens me to find out that so many young people I have spoke to have exciting career aspirations but do not know where to start, so do not bother and get lost in the system of signing on every two weeks. More needs to be done for this demographic group especially as they are fundamental for the future economic growth of our city.

    • Indeed, one of our (the council’s schemes) I believe. The point you make is a good one, there are huge swathe of ambitious youngsters out there who see themselves at the top of the ladder, but either don’t realise – or get discouraged by – the rungs in between. I think a lot of this work isn’t so much about providing the opportunities, but about coping with those expectations and coaching them through those initial rungs so they can see how it will help them get to where they want to be.

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