Wrexham Long Term Unemployment Figures Described As Deeply Worrying

Poor UK growth figures, coupled with the rise in the number of people who are long-term unemployed in Wrexham have been described as deeply worrying by the town’s MP.

GDP figures released yesterday morning showed the recession has got worse, with a 0.7% drop in GDP. The further dip means three negative quarters of growth in the British economy and Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has warned that the effects are being seen here in Wrexham.

He has also called for clearer thinking from the government to tackle the problem.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show more than a quarter of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance in Wrexham in June 2012 have been claiming the allowance for more than a year. The figures for Wrexham appear to be part of a national trend for long-term JSA claims, with similar figures for Wales and the UK also showing rises this year.

Mr Lucas said: “Since the first financial crisis in 2008, there has been a rise in the number of people claiming JSA for more than a year. However, the rise over the past year appears to be growing ever steeper and today’s growth figures will do little to slow the trend. The figures show that a quarter of people in Wrexham who are claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance have been doing so for more than a year, which really is dreadful.

“The government have been talking tough on cutting down the number of people who are on benefits but the reality is very different.

“To cut the number of people on benefits, you need jobs. To provide jobs, you need growth. But government policies have turned an economy which was growing when they took power into one in double-dip recession.”