Author: simon
‘Island Worst For Jobs’ Claim Challenged
Tuesday, 24th March, 2009 at 7:32 am, Isle of Wight
Two senior figures on the Island have questioned the recently published claims that the Isle of Wight had the highest ratio of job seekers to jobs in the UK.
Many newspapers reported the story, sourced from the Trade Union Council (TUC), that in some areas of the UK people on Jobseekers allowance outnumber job vacancies 20 to 1. The Isle of Wight was at the top of the list with claims of 60 claimants per vacancy.
TUC methods questioned
Since the original reports, both Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP, and David Pugh, Leader of the Council, have questioned the methodology of the TUC.
The central complaint is that the TUC figures came from a single month – January 2009, so for an Island which has so much tourism and agriculture employment, the figures were heavily skewed.
The Island’s voices were added to by the Department for Work and Pensions, “The figures quoted by the TUC only include vacancies in Jobcentre Plus offices and not across the wider economy,” their spokesperson said.
Andrew Turner summed up his position, “The Island’s sample size is a perennial problem – we are a small county and tiny fluctuations in numbers can give rise to very different outcomes. The TUC counted only jobs advertised through Jobcentre Plus in a single month; nationally only about one third of vacancies are advertised that way and there is anecdotal evidence that a smaller percentage of jobs go through Jobcentre Plus in rural areas like the Island. ”
Report on David Pugh
Andrew Turner’s statement
image: Thompski
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Interesting to note that the leader of the council can spot ‘heavily skewed figures’ when it suits him.
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I must admit I was mystified by this story. Whilst there are plenty of lay-offs which is bad news for sure, a look at the County Press any week reveals a great many more than 52 vacancies.
How can we be worse off than Merthyr Tydfil?
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I have lived both near Merthyr and here…..Both have the same bleak prospects but at least we have the sea.
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“so much tourism and agriculture employment”
The devil is in the detail, though. How many of those jobs go to Islanders and how many to temporary residents? My experience of horticultural jobs suggests that few locals are interested in that kind of work…
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“heavily skewed figures”
Depends who’s doing the skewing, I think, Steve!
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Information versus disinformation on the island economy.
Why do the senior figures on the island accuse the TUC of skewing figures? After all this implies disinformation? Surely this is a hysterical response by David Pugh and Andrew Turner. It is not that the TUC is going to lead the country out of the economic crisis (as most trades’ unionists would agree from experience). The point is that they have made some analysis out of existing figures provided by the National Statistics Office (ONS). Does anyone really think that the TUC wants to single out any specific area for the sake of it? Why would it want to? There is no implied axe to grind with the Isle of Wight. The fact that it appears at the top of the list is neither here nor there. For the MP to jump out of his chair at the mere mention of the Isle Wight shows how sensitive the issue is and that there is a need for something to be done.
Most of the time real information is limited and it is real information that is required for people to take democratic decisions on the objective basis of being informed. Turner readily quotes the figure of 2 million unemployed but we know that this is the government figure for those that sign on and is also misleading. There are many on the island we know that do not sign on. For Turner to use the terms “basket case” is misleading as this would imply the whole country, which has problems is also the same. Surely no-one would want to suggest this is the case. If the logic is that what is actually presented as an indicator of jobs available versus people unemployed then we know that this logic would apply right across the nation and the issue is that something needs to be done about it.
Pugh is sitting comfortably in his well paid job. To speak about jobs being available across the wider economy is dismissive of a real problem for solution. Many jobs have gone or are going from his Council staff. A number of small businesses have already gone to the wall in recent times, people on the island already know where these are, some due to the economic situation and underlying unemployment is increasing. For many years before the recession there have been difficulties both in employment and low paid work so what is Pugh trying to tell us, that everything is alright? This is the crux of the response by the senior figures, that the question is one of image and how others see their patch. Is everything fine when the tourist season starts or is this the real godsend for jobs every year? Does employment in agriculture zoom skyward with decent pay, as Pugh would imply with his wishful thinking? Surely the real situation has to be uncovered and who is in a better position to do it than him?
The cartel parties, Labour, Liberal and Tory are still presenting themselves as the only solution to the crisis and yet the main parties are the ones who have been the stewards of the economy that has led to these situations. What are the solutions put forward? Is it only to bail out the banks and pay the rich? What are Pugh and Turner saying are the issues and solutions on the Isle of Wight? They are saying nothing.
The TUC says that the claimant to vacancy ratio on the Isle of Wight represents the worst hit area. Is the logic based on the limited facts sound? If so, because facts are stubborn things, are their conclusions also sound? They say that, “The Government must now accept that unemployment is a national emergency and use all possible means to stem further job losses, create new jobs and provide greater financial help to people who have lost their jobs through no fault of the their own”.
To help limit further job losses, increase the number of vacancies and provide extra help for the unemployed, the TUC is calling on the Government to;
give short-term wage subsidies to viable firms who are struggling with credit subsidies, topping up workers’ wages and preventing unnecessary and costly job losses;
introduce major public investment programmes to create new jobs in growth areas of the economy such as high skilled manufacturing, creative and green industries; and,
increase Job Seekers Allowance from £60.50 a week to at least £75 a week to provide extra financial help for people who are struggling to get by.
It appears that while the powers that be fiddle while Rome burns, the people have to envisage and also endure the consequences as they arrive. The time has surely come for the intelligent to disseminate the issues on the basis of true facts. The conclusions arrived at by the TUC only suggest ways of alleviating some of the problems caused by the economic crisis they are not a total solution based on limited analysis caused by limited facts.
There are real facts to be uncovered, some positive work has been done by Ryde Trades Council and needs to be furthered by those interested. The conclusions arrived at is that more should be put into the island economy than is taken out, which they analyse as a problem that exists here. They also say that an island dissemination group should be set up whereby alternative politics can be developed based on analysis derived from facts and decision making can be made by ordinary people.
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The TUC article begins: “Job seekers are outnumbering vacancies advertised in jobcentres..” so it’s pretty clear which figures they are using. Their beef is with the government, which is downplaying the seriousness of the situation for political reasons.
I’m not entirely sure why local Tories are reacting as they have, but perhaps it’s their automatic response to anything from the TUC!
To be fair to Andrew Turner, his reaction is more measured, and he quotes the “6.2% unemployment for people of working age” figure, which just shows how different things can appear according to the stats you read. There might not be so many people out of work, but if they’re all chasing a tiny number of vacancies, it still looks bad…
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Of course the figures don’t take into account those people on Incapacity Benefit who are also actively seeking work, so the number of job seekers is actually higher than that published. To take the position that the Island’s employment is seasonal is poor, it’s about time the MP and Council Leader recognised the fact that they preside over an area of the country with poor employment prospects and low pay. I’d like to know what they can actively do about this as our elected representatives?
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Other news stories in the past week included maps of the country showing unemployment hotspots, and the island came off better than in the TUC one. But as has been pointed out, depends what you’re measuring, and when.
But certainly it’s got tougher. One friend who works for a solicitor has agreed to a wage cut of 20% (while others in the practice were recently made redundant). And someone else who went for a clerical job heard nothing and when she enquired was told 300 people had applied. So it’s not just about seasonal employment.
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