Dole figures rise despite hopes of Christmas cheer

Published on Wednesday 15 December 2010 11:40

THE number of people signing on the dole in Edinburgh has increased in the last month, dashing hopes that the figures would be boosted by the traditional influx of new seasonal jobs during the festive period.

The number of people in the Capital claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) rose again last month following three consecutive months of decline, despite this usually being a time when jobs are created ahead of Christmas in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

Business leaders in the city today admitted it was "disappointing" that there had not been a festive bounce to the figures and said the new data was another sign that companies in the private and public sector were continuing to axe jobs.

In November, 10,023 people claimed JSA in Edinburgh, up 1.4 per cent on October and the highest amount since August. It means that exactly three per cent of the city's workforce is signing on.

Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is the season when a lot of jobs are created around Christmas and New Year and the question is, will these people stay on into the new year?

"There is still a lot of 'right-sizing' in the private sector, with people taking attractive offers made in terms of redundancy and early retirement, and there is now some of this in the public sector as well.

"I would have thought this month would be better because seasonality might have taken up some of the flak. It is a bit disappointing that the net effect is not better than these figures suggest."

The number of Edinburgh vacancies advertised at the Jobcentre fell even more sharply. Only 2272 jobs were advertised in November, which was 71 per cent lower than October.

The number of people that claim JSA is still down 3.4 per cent on this time last November, although it is 65 per cent higher than November 2008.

The month-on-month rise in claimants mirrors the national figures, with the number of Scots signing on rising by 300 to 135,600 in November.

Across the UK, total unemployment rose to 7.9 per cent, although the numbers claiming JSA fell by 1200 to 1.46 million.

Council officials are still hopeful that there will be a reduction in unemployment this month as more seasonal jobs become available.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the city's economic development leader, said: "There are a number of factors that could have influenced these figures. Towards the end of November we had a terrible spell of weather and that may have delayed retailers and the hospitality sector taking on staff.

"No-one can deny we will have these peaks and troughs in a period of economic uncertainty, but it does surprise me that there was not a decline in unemployment at this time of the year."