Young Fifers bear brunt of job losses as COVID hits hospitality and retail

Fife unemployment rates are in the region of 6.5% for people over 16.

This is higher than the Scottish average of 4.6%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Department of Work and Pensions also saw an increase of 80% in Universal Credit claims from Fifers since the end of February.

As a result of Covid-19, the youngest - those in their teens and 20s - are expected to be the most affected by unemployment locally as sectors they work in, such as retail and hospitality, are 2.5 times more likely to be shut down.

Youth unemployment is now estimated to be nearer to 20% in the Kingdom.

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At a Fife Partnership board meeting yeterday, Elaine Morrison head of partnerships for Scottish Enterprise commented that Fife’s figures are: “higher than the Scottish average” adding: “It’s higher than the Edinburgh and South East average , and than the Tay cities average so within the regional and national context, there is something lagging in there.”

She added: “The income generated through the emplyoment that exists there is also actually lower in Fife than in many other parts in Scotland.”

At the meeting, Fife Council presented a ‘Reform and Recovery’ proposal and plans are currently underway to tackle unemployment in the area.

The DWP are recruiting new work coaches at job centres in Fife to deal with unemployment.

David Crawford senior manager for Fife said: “We’ve just processed the recruitment of ten colleagues,and we’re looking at far more over the coming months as we look to maximise our current estate. We’ll hopefully have more positive updates in the future.”

Overall, Scotland’s unemployment rate is the highest in the UK with the rest of Britain sitting at a rate of 3.9%.

Forecasts made by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predict unemployment will reach 10% by the end of 2020, but taking longer to get back to its pre-pandemic level sometime in 2024.

The UK government are launching a ‘Kickstart Scheme’, a £2b fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16-24 who are on Universal Credit and at risk of long term unemployment

> Hannah Brown is the Local Democracy Reporter for Fife & Angus

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