What else is hidden from unemployment figures?

Following on from Andrew Bingham’s comments last week regarding new research by the Conservatives which revealed that over 220,000 unemployed working age men across the country have been written off by the Government and hidden from the unemployment figures, About Buxton News asks what else could be hidden from the true unemployment figures?

Under benefit rules men aged 60-64 are able to claim Pension Credit instead of Jobseeker’s Allowance if they lose their job. This means that they don’t appear in the official unemployment claimant count figures each month and are excluded from a proper programme of back to work support.

Over 229,000 working age men are currently claiming Pension Credit – representing one in five of all male Pension Credit claimants and almost one in ten of all Pension Credit claims. In comparison there are only 17,775 men over 60 claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance.

If the working aged men claiming Pension Credit were added to the claimant count it would rise by 15% totalling 1.75 million unemployed in Britain, instead of 1.52 million as the Government’s figures show.

In some constituencies unemployment would rise by over one third if the figures took into account working age pension credit claims. In High Peak the claimant count would increase by 15% if working age pension credit claimants were included.

Andrew Bingham said, “as you dig deeper into the unemployment figures, the worse things seem. Labour appear to be massaging the figures to hide the true scale of unemployment in Britain. In addition to this, these forgotten men are being consigned to the scrap heap as they are being excluded from a proper programme of back to work help. On the one hand Labour want to raise the retirement age whilst on the other, they are not prepared to help older people find the jobs to keep them employed until a later retirement age.”

If the Conservatives are right, is it also possible that unemployed claimants attending jobcentre plus courses are also excluded from the official unemployment claimant count figures?

Mr Levitt was unavailable for comment.

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What else is hidden from unemployment figures?

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