Caerphilly County Borough has seen the second largest fall in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits.
In August 2012 there were 19,680 people claiming – 1,670 fewer than August 2010, according to Official National Statistics compiled by the Department of Work and Pensions.
Across the UK, the number of people claiming the main out-of-work benefits has fallen by over 230,000 since the election.
Mark Hoban, Employment Minister said: “With more people in work than ever before it is clear that our reforms are helping people off benefits and into jobs. The vast majority of people don’t want to live a life on benefits, so it’s good to see that in Caerphilly the number of people claiming welfare is dropping.
“We still have a long way to go, but through things such as the Work Programme and by reassessing everyone trapped on sickness benefits, we are giving people the help they need to move into a job.”
Glasgow was the area with the highest fall in claimants with a drop of 2,850.
Last month it was reported that unemployment in Wales increased by 7,000 in the three months to the end of January 2013 – bringing the total figure to 125,000.
It is always encouraging when statistics show an improvement in employment but figures like this need to be treated with caution. Since the days of Thatcher governments, of all colours, have used various schemes to massage the published figures to make them look favourable to whoever is in charge.
As an example I know a nineteen year old from Caerffili who managed to get a part time job last month. He works 15 hours, which is the maximum made available by the company that employed him. For this he gets paid £97-50 per week. He now appears on the government figures as "employed" and "off benefits" which is good news for him as he is getting some work experience and the satisfaction of doing a job of work. Despite this he is not employed in the sense that I would have understood when I was nineteen. There is absolutely no prospect of him setting up his own household, paying rent or mortgage, fuel bills, council tax, etc unless his fortunes change for the better and he is able to secure full time employment.
Yes, it is good news that some people have moved from benefits and into work but the economy of Wales needs many more reasonably paid jobs that employ people for a sufficient number of hours for them to support themsleves. Let us not kid ourselves that the jobless figures have any deeper meaning than a lot of out of work people finding some sort of part time employment, which is probably the case with this set of figures.
Followed by the second highest rise in claims for in-work benefits perchance? No breakdown of figures, part time, self-employed, percentage at minimum wage. Not even a word on carers allowance or other benefits not counted as 'out of work'. Just vague language, vague claims and a little verbal diarrhoea by Mark Hoban.
Anyone unemployed should go the self-employed route. You don't have to make a profit, part time, hours to suit, you wont be branded a scrounger or despised by the national press and best of all when you do the math you will likely find yourself better off than on dole.