Unemployment figures still double the pre-lockdown levels

Thursday 17 September 2020

People who worked in administration, finance, retail and construction collectively account for more than half of those now claiming unemployment benefit, according to the most recent statistics.

In the week ending 5 September, 690 people were registered as wholly unemployed - 166 fewer than those registered during the week ending 1 August. Pre-pandemic, around 300 people were registered locally as unemployed.

The number of wholly unemployed people was highest at the end of May this year, when 5.2% of the local workforce (1,631 people) were out of a job.

Since then, 941 of those people have managed to find a job and the number of unemployed people has consistently decreased.

Pictured: 20 to 29-year-olds experienced the highest levels of unemployment.

However, rates are still much higher than they would usually be, following three months of lockdown and continued restrictions at the island's borders. In June this year, there were 1,135 people registered as wholly unemployed, compared to just 296 the year before.

According to the stats taken at the beginning of this month, 27% of those claiming unemployment benefit had administration and finance skills, 14% had worked in retail, 13% had been in construction and 9% had experience in catering and hospitality.

Pictured: Positions advertised at the Job Centre decreased during lockdown.

Those aged between 20 and 29 have been hit the hardest, having consistently seen the highest number of unemployed men and women when compared with other age categories.

While the number of available positions advertised with the Job Centre dropped sharply in March and April, that number did pick up again between April and June, when all sectors saw an increase in the number of jobs advertised - largely returning to the levels seen before lockdown. However, as those positions started to be filled throughout June and July, the number of positions decreased again in the majority of sectors.