Jobless statistics on the way down

STATISTICS show that unemployment in Forres is on a downward trend.

Senior operations manager for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Alan Kane, spoke to the ‘Gazette’ about the local labour market.

“The unemployment trend for the Forres area is downward,” he confirmed, following the release of national employment figures.

“There are currently around 200 jobseekers in total in local wards.

“However, we don’t want to be complacent so we’re working with the long term unemployed there to upskill them to meet future employers needs.”

He added: “Labour figures vary by ward in comparison with the rest of Moray - when looked at in detail, there are some with higher unemployment figures than the region per head of population, and others with less.”

•Broken down, the figures for the local wards provided by the DWP are as follows:

Forres East - 28 Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants, 60 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and incapacity benefit claimants, 10 lone parents, 20 carers, 10 others on income related benefits, 15 disabled and five bereaved.

Of the job seekers, 22 are male with six females. The majority (15) are aged 25-49 and have been claiming for less than six months;

Central Forres - 83 JSA claimants, 190 ESA and incapacity claimants, 30 lone parents, 35 carers, 15 on income related benefits, and 25 disabled.

Of the job seekers, the majority (45) have been claiming for less than six months;

Forres West and Altyre - 58 JSA claimants, 135 ESA and incapacity benefit claimants, 25 lone parents, 40 carers, 10 others on income related benefits, 30 disabled and 10 bereaved.

Of the job seekers, 36 are male and 22 are female. Most (30) are aged 25-49 and have been claiming for less than six months.

“There are actually only 35 young people aged 18-24 claiming Jobseekers Allowance in the Forres area,” said Mr Kane.

“That’s the lowest level for many years.”

Mr Kane said that relatively low unemployment figures in Forres are helped by its status as a “travel to work” area, with many locals working in Elgin and Inverness. He pointed out that Capita and Atos Development and Innovation Centre are two of the largest employers in Forres.

“Capita are currently offering 50 short term jobs in the run-up to Christmas,” he added, “and Atos are running local apprenticeship schemes.

“The DWP are also looking ahead to identify potential gaps in local skills.

“In order to upskill the local unemployed peoplewe are starting construction, warehouse and welding courses in January.”

Mr Kane believes that the majority of employment opportunities are for the under-25 and over-25 brackets, adding that the DWP offer specialist work coaches for youths to get them into work quicker.

He is of the opinion that national stories about part-time employment becoming more common are incorrect.

“Our figures suggest that there are not as many folk in P/T or temporary employment as some people think,” he explained.

“There are certainly far more people in permanent positions than there were 12 months ago.”

The operations manager for the north of Scotland did not reveal his own feelings about the UK-national Government’s welfare policy changes. However, he claimed that they have made a positive difference in other areas.

“Our response is to introduce the changes,” he said. “Universal Credit is already operational in the Inverness and the feedback I’ve had from claimants is positive.

“It doesn’t affect Forres yet but it will be rolled out across the UK eventually.”

Mr Kane was disappointed to hear about the 33 redundancies at the former TIO factory.

“We have been working closely with them to find alternative employment for the people that lost jobs,” he said.

“Our manager recently took an information bus (sponsored by Moray Council and the NHS) onto the workplace and worked with staff, showing them how to claim and highlighting job opportunities elsewhere - it was well received.

“We try to be proactive rather than wait and deal with employment issues as they arise - these people have undoubted transferable skills.

“So far, only one claimant has registered with the DWP following the announcement of redundancies.”