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Moray jobless figures rise as lockdown impact continues


By Alan Beresford

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LOCKDOWN is continuing to impact jobless figures both in Moray and across Scotland, new statistics have revealed.

DWP employer and partnership manager Jane Munro.
DWP employer and partnership manager Jane Munro.

June saw a total of 6632 registered as claiming Universal Credit, a rise of 311 over May and nearly double March's level of 3537 when the lockdown started.

The trend has been mirrored across, with the numbers in receipt of Universal Credit rising from 264,109 to 458,263 over the March to June period.

In Moray, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have been putting together a number of courses and other events to help match up employers and jobseekers.

DWP employer and partnership manager Jane Munro, who is based at Forres Jobcentre, said: “We’ve got a number of events and courses either running or in the pipeline for the near future.

“This Thursday we’re hosting a virtual jobs fair on Twitter at 11am to 11.45am focusing on the care sector – log on at @jcpinNorthScot for job vacancies and employer videos.

“Moray Works facebook page is a great resource for jobseekers with lots of helpful information for jobsearch and recruitment practices.

“There are currently 56 vacancies available on Find A Job for Moray with the majority in care sector and construction.

“Due to the demand in the care and construction sectors we’re looking at running virtual courses in both those industries to help people get the necessary certification they need to start work as soon as possible. Customers who are interested should speak to their work coach for more information.

“We’d be delighted to hear from employers who are finding they are having problems recruiting staff due to certification issues and we’ll see how we can help them address this.

"There’s a huge reservoir of people ready to work out there.

“Moray Pathways, which is a consortium that brings together a wealth of information from DWP, Skills Development Scotland, Moray College UHI, along with many local training providers, is an excellent single point of contact for businesses and people to get access to information on skills, vacancies, re-training and support.”

Moray Pathways can be contacted at 07800 678502 or visit www.moraypathways.co.uk

Anyone wishing to find out if they would be entitled to Universal Credit is advised to access https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Anyone wishing to find out if they would be entitled to Universal Credit is advised to access https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

For help in finding a job, visit https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/ or https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/

Employers seeking advice can go to https://employerhelp.dwp.gov.uk/

Nationally the DWP have been rolling out a number of schemes for employers and jobseekers alike as well as recruiting 27,000 extra frontline Jobcentre staff.

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