Coronavirus lockdown sees another rise in people claiming unemployment benefits in West Lindsey
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The Labour Party and charities are calling for more support to stop people being pulled into poverty by the Covid-19 pandemic, after the number of claims more than doubled since the UK went into lockdown.
Office for National Statistics data shows 2,985 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in West Lindsey as of May 14, compared to just 1,680 in early March.
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Hide AdIt means the share of the population signing on rose from 3.0 per cent to 5.4 per cent.
But West Lindsey's claimant rate was still slightly lower than the 5.8 per cent across the East Midlands as a whole.
The ONS figures count those aged 16-year-old to 64-years-old who are on Jobseekers Allowance and some Universal Credit claimants, with numbers rounded to the nearest five.
Across the UK, the claimant count more than doubled to 2.7 million on May 14, with separate ONS figures showing the figure stood at 2.8 million for the whole month, which is the highest it’s been since 1993.
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Hide AdThe ONS cautioned that changes to Universal Credit in response to the virus mean more people could get unemployment-related benefits while still being employed, which could affect the figures.
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds is calling for an urgent "back to work budget" to support jobs through the economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus.
She said: “The Government was too slow to recognise the scale of the health crisis from coronavirus and we are already paying the economic price.
“The window is closing to protect existing jobs and encourage firms to invest in creating new ones."
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Hide AdAnti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the Government should particularly focus on creating jobs in places that have seen the biggest increases in unemployment, and give people opportunities to gain new skills.
Dave Innes, head of economics at the foundation, said: "Alongside this, the Government should also boost benefits so that people are not pulled into poverty if they lose their jobs."