UNEMPLOYMENT in Liverpool city region rose in January as the jobs market saw its usual post-Christmas slump.
The total number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance across the six boroughs in January stood at 53,178 – up 2.7% on December's figure of 51,774.
That figure has risen every January since 2008 and can be explained by the fact that many people find temporary jobs over Christmas but have to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance again after the festive season.
The biggest rise was in Wirral, where the claimant count rose 5.5% to 8,292. In Halton, the figure rose 5.2% to 4,297.
In Liverpool, the claimant count rose 1.1% to 20,350.
But nationally, the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance has fallen to a near two-year low after a huge increase in employment.
Almost 30m people were in work at the end of 2012, an increase of 154,000 on the quarter to September, and the highest total since records began in 1971.
The claimant count fell for the third month in a row in January, down by 12,500 to 1.54m, the lowest since June 2011.
Unemployment, including those not eligible for benefit, fell by 14,000 in the final quarter of last year to 2.5m – 156,000 lower than a year ago.
