| Figures released today show 4783 people in Dundee were on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) last month — a rise of 1512 compared with May 2008.
The claimant count in Angus was up by 940 to 2177 over the same period, and in Perth and Kinross up by 997 to 1958. In Fife the number of people on JSA jumped by 4026, taking the Kingdom’s total to 10,130.
Nationally, some 3.9% of the working-age population were claiming JSA.
Both Perth and Kinross (2.3%) and Angus (3.4%) beat the average, but Fife was worse (4.5%). Dundee’s figure of 5.4% was the joint fourth-highest out of 32 local authorities.
The city’s record for male unemployment was particularly bad, with almost one man in 12 on JSA. Nationally, male claimants outnumber female by three to one.
Unemployment in Scotland has risen by more than 41,000 in recent months.
The increase takes the jobless total to 176,000.
The number of people claiming the jobseeker’s allowance has risen by more than 3500 in the space of a month to 125,000, the figures showed.
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said, “These latest figures are a real blow and reflect the job consequences of the global economic problems.” |
