UNEMPLOYMENT levels have fallen slightly in St Helens but are still more than double what they were at the same time last year, new figures have shown.
The latest regional labour market data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 7,555 people in St Helens were unemployed as of October 8.
Out of those, 4,710 men and 2,845 were women.
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During the same period in 2019, the number of unemployed people in St Helens stood at 3,375, comprising of 2,305 men and 1,070 women.
While the figures are deeply concerning, they are a marginal improvement on last month.
Those statistics showed that 7,790 people in St Helens, comprising of 4,880 men and 2845 women, were unemployed as of August 13.
The ONS calculates unemployment levels using the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance plus the number of people claiming Universal Credit benefits who are required to seek work.
Tracy Mawson, chief executive of St Helens Chamber, said it is “too soon” to see if the labour market has improved because many employees would have still been furloughed during that period.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which sees the government pay furloughed employees 80 per cent of their current salary, was launched in March and was due to end on October 31.
However, following the decision to enter a national lockdown, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced last week that the government would be extending the furlough scheme until the end of March.
But critics have accused the government of leaving the decision too late, with many firms already deciding to cut jobs prior to the extension.
Ms Mawson said: “Whilst it is encouraging to see universal credit claimant numbers falling slightly in October, it is too soon to say whether this is a sign of improvement in the local labour market, as the latest published figures predate the end of the government’s previous furlough scheme, which was due to end 31st October.
“Although this was eventually extended, it happened far too late, when many firms would already have been forced to make difficult decisions over cutting jobs.
“We know local businesses are rallying hard to keep as many staff as possible on payroll, and that some are still attempting to recruit despite the difficult climate, so hopefully now they have some degree of certainty over the furlough scheme at least until March, this will allow them to take stock and plan their recovery.
“At St Helens Chamber we understand that there is a long road to recovery and our support teams are continuing to work hard to support both local businesses and job seekers alike.”
Nationally, ONS figures show that number of UK workers on payrolls has now fallen by 782,000 between March and October due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the three months to September 2020, which are the most recent figures in the data, redundancies reached a record high of 314,000, up 181,000 on the previous quarter.
Across the UK, the overall unemployment rate was 4.8 per cent, up 0.9 percentage points on the same period last year and 0.7 points on the previous quarter.
An estimated 1.62 million people were unemployed, which is 318,000 more than a year earlier and 243,000 more than the previous quarter.
Labour councillor Kate Groucutt, St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet member for education, skills and business, said the government needs to “get a grip on both the virus and the economic catastrophe facing our communities”.
Cllr Groucutt, who is also the deputy portfolio holder for inclusive economy and third sector at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said: “The huge rise in unemployment is really worrying for areas like St Helens.
“The government’s chaotic handling of the coronavirus pandemic certainly isn’t helping businesses who have done everything asked of them to adapt and keep staff safe, but still had to close during the second national lockdown.
“The Chancellor’s last-minute decision to extend furlough came too late for thousands of people made redundant in October before the U-turn was announced, and many more self-employed people have been excluded from support altogether.
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“We can see through the rising numbers of benefit claims locally that many families and businesses are really struggling, and the council’s Ways to Work programme is available to help.
“We really need the government to get a grip on both the virus and the economic catastrophe facing our communities, and to set up a UK Jobs Guarantee Scheme so that all young people can access a fully-funded job or training.”
Anyone looking for support to get back into work should contact Starting Point on 01744 698800.
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