Jobseeker claims on the rise

THE number of city residents claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance is up by three per cent, new unemployment figures have shown.

More than 10,800 claimed the income benefit in July, which was 3.1 per cent higher than July 2010.

The city council’s monthly Edinburgh Economy Watch also found there are 3.6 claimants for every job available.

The report noted that the labour market is a “lagging indicator following a recession”.

However, the labour market in Edinburgh is performing significantly better than in comparative cities.

The claimant per job ratio is 6.2 for Scotland on average, and the average for comparable cities, which includes London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle, among others, was 5.8.

The report also found the number of job vacancies was up by more than 30 per cent on the same month last year.

Jobcentre Plus advertised 3000 vacancies in July.