As the coronavirus crises continues to hit Liverpool city region businesses hard the number on Universal Credit kept rising in May, albeit at a slower pace than the previous month. Tony McDonough reports
There was another big surge in the number of people claiming Universal Credit across the Liverpool city region from April to May.
However the 16.1% rise to 159,376 claimants across Liverpool, Wirral, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Halton was smaller than the “unprecedented” 37.4% rise seen from March to April as the coronavirus lockdown hit the jobs market hard.
Liverpool, again, saw the biggest percentage rise in UC claimants, up 18.9% to 53,422; followed Knowsley, up 16.3% to 17,600; St Helens, up 16.2% to 17,620; Sefton, up 15.6% to 25,588; Wirral, up 14.6% to 29,503; and Halton, up 11.2% to 17,600.
The Merseyside figures reflect the grim picture across the UK. From March 1 to May 26 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has received more than 3m individual claims for Universal Credit.
Although the rise in new UC claims has slowed the UK is bracing itself for a surge in unemployment in the coming months as the Government business support schemes are wound down.
Gemma Batchelor, customer service leader and spokesperson for DWP in Merseyside said she and her team was no focused on supporting claimants to access new jobs and training in the coming months.
She told LBN: “Our large recruitment team has been notified of more than 2,500 key worker vacancies since March. A recruitment line was set up for customers to call if they are interested in the opportunities.
“This includes 500 homeworker vacancies, with HRGO and Adecco, ideally suited for those customers with good customer service skills, ie from the retail and hospitality sectors.
“A sector-based work academy was developed for customers who do not have the relevant customer service and digital skills for the homeworker roles.
“We have also become aware that not everyone has laptop or PC to be able to take part in online training so we have been working with local suppliers to secure equipment. Pathways to Work has offered 40 laptops to loan to customers.”
Local vacancies are posted via Twitter on @JCPinMerseyside and other useful links include a dedicated website for job-seekers.