Unemployment claimant count falls

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in Rochdale fallen.

Last month 7,741 people claimed the benefit compared with 7,766 the month before.

Dr Brian Sloan, Chief Economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “Although there has been a reduction in the claimant count, the figures released today demonstrate that job creation is not progressing as we’d hoped earlier in the year. The figures show we were right to warn that our economy was exposed as the Government looked to encourage export-led growth.

“Young people continue to suffer from the post recession trend in youth unemployment. This is likely to be protracted as the recovery is so weak and it is a serious concern that we will lose a generation in record numbers. This trend is also not helped by the abolition of the Default Retirement Age as the detail of these complex statistics shows the number of people continuing to work beyond 65 is increasing.

“The debt situation in our major trading partners is the key concern and for the domestic economy today’s increase in national unemployment is a further blow to consumer confidence that is likely to ripple through the economy as households continue to rein in spending.

“The Government and Bank of England are looking to stimulate the economy but the direction of that stimulus is clearly still very much wanting if we are to address the short term challenges and prepare for longer term stability and growth in the regions.”