JSA Claimant Rate

Councillors claim there are signs of increased confidence in the Fife economy.

Figures show 2, 125 fewer people have received Jobseekers Allowance since January 2014.

It takes the total number of claimants to 6, 349 which accounts for 2.7% of Fife's working age.

However, there was an increase in claimants between December and January. It's been attributed to Christmas contracts coming to end end.

Councillor Lesley Laird, Fife Council’s Depute Leader and Executive Spokesperson for Economy & Planning said: “We saw an increase in claimants between December and January which could possibly be attributed to temporary Christmas contracts coming to an end.

“However, this is a smaller increase than we saw over the Christmas to January period for the last seven years. Hopefully this is an indication that more employers are feeling confident and retaining a higher percentage of staff originally hired as Christmas temps.

“Fife Council and our partnership organisations have been committed to increasing employment as set out in the Fife Economic Strategy 2013-2023. It is evident from that partnership approach, and early signs of increased confidence in the economy, that this has contributed to in a reduction of more than 2,000 Jobseekers Allowance Claimants over the last year. That's encouraging news for the partnership as it tells us that the policies and practices put in place to support the strategy’s outcomes are making a difference to the people of Fife and the Fife economy.

"However, Fife’s Jobseekers Allowance Claimant Rate still remains slightly above the Scottish average of 2.4%. and we are committed to closing that gap."