THE devastating effect of Covid-19 on local jobless figures in Solihull is shown with the number of people out of work in the borough more than doubling over the same period last year.
As of August 2020, 7,594 people were claiming unemployment benefit in the searching for work group, according to figures for Solihull from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
This is an increase of 3,982 from last year, or 110 per cent.
The impact on young people aged 18 to 24 year old is even greater, rising to 1,632, an increase of 926 from last year.
However Kristina Cassidy from the DWP said despite the figures ‘there were still lots of jobs out there’ and they were doing all they can to support people back into work.
“The Government Kickstart was scheme launched nationally this month,” she said.
“The Kickstart Scheme is a £2billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality six month work placements for young people.
“In Birmingham and Solihull currently we have 231 employers interested in taking part in the Kickstart, which we anticipate to generate 730 placements in the area.
“The number of opportunity will increase as more employer sign-up to support this exciting initiative.
“DWP are extending the existing Work and Health Programme (WHP) to provide early access to labour market support for those made unemployed due to Covid-19.
“JETS (Job Entry Targeted Support) is due to go live next week in Birmingham and Solihull aimed to support those who have been unemployed for more than three months with specialist support, to enhance their skills back into work.
“Our Graduate Retune programme has pivoted its response to our current climate and with support of a local partnership have setup web seminars from goal setting to CV writing to enhance skills for the labour market.
Local partnerships have also been forged with Solihull to encourage more job opportunities for the local community.”
Across the United Kingdom, the number of people who claimed Universal Credit or Jobseekers Allowance that are able to look for work in August 2020 was 2.76 million. This is a four per cent increase in the last quarter.
