1:06pm Thursday 18th March 2010
By Michael Pickard
Unemployment in Watford is a “real cause for concern”, politicians said this week, after new figures revealed the number of job seekers rose last month.
The number of people claiming job seekers' allowance rose from 2,273 in January to 2,292 in February this year, which represents 3.5 per cent of the town's working age population.
However, despite the small increase of 19 people, the figures from the National Office of Statistics revealed the number of claimants decreased in all age categories except those under 25.
An additional 25 people aged 18 to 24 and under signed on last month, an increase from 535 to 560.
In the same month, there were 3,140 people aged 25 to 49 who claimed the benefit, down ten, while the figure for claimants over 50 remained at 390.
Sal Brinton, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Watford, said more must be done to help young people find work.
She said: “Whilst it is a relief that unemployment for the over-25s seems to have halted in Watford, it is very worrying that youth unemployment continues to rise.
“Every single young person who has signed on needs support, and now. It is wrong that the Labour government help available for under 25s doesn’t start until they’ve been unemployed for months.”
Meanwhile, Richard Harrington, the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Watford, said the figures were a “real cause for concern for people in Watford”.
He said: “They show that, the week before Labours pre-election Budget, the actions of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have continued to fail and the people of Watford are suffering as a consequence.
“Sadly, these figures are only the tip of the iceberg. The reality is that about ten per cent of the total population of Watford are reliant on state handouts.
“The Labour government have been totally incompetent in providing jobs for people in Watford and supporting the small businesses that create jobs. A Conservative government will scrap the bureaucracy and red tape that leave so many small businesses unable to function efficiently. We will get Britain back to work.”
Watford's Labour MP Claire Ward, however, said only the election of a Labour MP would prevent the risk of the “fragile” economic recovery collapsing.
She said: “Each of these 19 cases are personal tragedies in the sense they are people who have lost their jobs and are actively looking for work.
“But the really big issue is how fragile recovery is and how we cannot put that at risk and the election of anyone but a Labour MP will put that at risk because it will put the recovery at risk.”
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