Number of Wiganers in unemployment claimant count doubles in a year, shock figures show

The figures give some idea of how the borough's economy is being affected by Covid-19, with the pandemic thought to be almost entirely behind the surge in claimants.

The count is made up of people who are still receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) as well as some of those residents who get Universal Credit, particularly those who are required to search for work.

#It is a similar picture for the North West as a whole, where the claimant count has shot up due to the major public health crisis.

Between June 2019 and March 2020, when the government announced lockdown, the claimant count for the region stood at between 154,000 and 166,000.

In April 2020 the count nearly doubled, to 307,200, and climbed again to 348,800 in May 2020.

These figures give some indication of the large numbers of workers who are ineligible for the government’s coronavirus support packages and have had to rely on the existing benefits system, such as signing on for Universal Credit.

Of course, there could also be other reasons why people have lost their jobs in the time period under consideration and have had to seek out-of-work support.

The numbers do not include anyone on the nationwide furlough scheme for employees who cannot do their jobs because of the coronavirus, as they are still counted as employed.

For statistical and analytical purposes, their jobs are regarded as simply being paused rather than gone.

The Wigan figures showed that in the middle of last month there were 9,285 male claimants and 5,390 women included in the list of jobseekers.

Political responses to the latest data suggested the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market was now clearly visible and that would remain the case for some time.