The latest unemployment figures show a significant increase in the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits across the UK as well as here in East Hampshire.
The total of 2,300 claimants in June for East Hampshire is an increase of 1,565 since March - when the lockdown began - with 480 of those aged 18-24. The figures represent 3.9 per cent of the population aged 16-64, which is lower than the equivalent UK wide claimant rate of 6.3 per cent. The full unemployment rates will be higher than these claimant count rates (as not all unemployed people claim unemployment benefits) but the claimant count is a more up-to-date way of looking at trends in local areas.
Commenting, Damian said:
“We know that many businesses and livelihoods have been severely impacted by the pandemic and we are seeing that stark reality in the figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics this week. I am acutely conscious of how hard this is for the East Hampshire families affected.
“As we continue to see measures eased and more businesses reopen, and with employers now able to bring furloughed employees back to work for any amount of time and any shift pattern, I hope we will see the situation stabilise in the coming weeks.”
By the end of June, 13,000 jobs had been furloughed in East Hampshire through the Government's Job Retention Scheme and 4,600 claims had been made to the Self Employment Income Support scheme.
