Despite an overall decrease year on year in the number of people out of work, more people are asking for help through employment and income-related benefits.
The latest States statistics show that at the end of December 2024, 264 people were registered as ‘jobseekers’ with Employment and Social Security.
That’s down 23 on December 2023, but up 19 compared with November 2024.
However, the stats also show that 36 new claims for employment and income-related benefits were made during December 2024, compared with 8 during November 2024 and 20 during December 2023.
The States monitors the number of people classed as unemployed, and those with some work, on a quarterly basis with the most recent statistics relating to the final weeks of 2024.
Traditionally there is an upturn in casual work available in the run up to Christmas with hospitality, fulfilment and retail businesses all taking on additional staff.
However, during December 2024 there were more people out of work than there had been in October and November.
There was also a decrease in the number of ‘jobseekers with some work’.
This includes people in part-time or casual work who may also receive income support.
80 people were classified in this way in November, dropping to 74 in December. The majority of these jobseekers were women.
Overall, the majority of jobseekers in December were men – with 152 looking for work, compared to 112 women.
For those people looking for work, there were fewer opportunities around in December 2024 compared to the previous year.
The Job Centre promoted 153 job advertisements in December 2024, but it had advertised 198 the year before.