North Lanarkshire is working – with the number of people on unemployment benefit showing one of the fastest declines in Scotland.

The number of residents claiming Job Seekers Allowance fell by 6.4 per cent between April 2004 and March 2006. And the number of people claiming benefits such as Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disability Allowance has dropped faster in North Lanarkshire (5 per cent) than Scotland-wide (3 per cent).

These are just two of the findings of a report into North Lanarkshire's labour market, presented to members of the council's economic regeneration committee.

Committee Convener Councillor Tom Maginnis said:

"This latest report shows that our economic performance over recent years has been very positive. The number of people in work has increased, while the number of people claiming benefits has gone down. But there is no room for complacency. There are still pockets of North Lanarkshire where unemployment levels are unacceptably high and we must engage with people to convince them of the merits of moving off benefits and into work."

Overall, the number of people claiming all kinds of benefits fell by 10 per cent between November 2003 and November 2005, down from 42,630 to 38,360.

The report reveals that since 1998 employment growth in North Lanarkshire has exceeded the national rate, with the number of jobs increasing over that period from 103,886 to 114,061. This translates to a 9.8 per cent growth for North Lanarkshire against a 7.8 per cent growth for Scotland. But pay rates are lower in North Lanarkshire against the Scottish average at £9.34 an hour. The Scottish average is £10.33 an hour. The gap is more pronounced for men working full time.

And North Lanarkshire still relies more heavily on specialist areas in manufacturing, construction and transport and communications, lagging behind the Scottish average in areas such as finance, information technology and business services.

The report analyses those on Job Seeker allowances and finds that North Lanarkshire claimants have been seeking work for a shorter time than the Scottish average. However, when analysed by age, North Lanarkshire's rate is 1 per cent higher than the national rate for people aged 18 to 24 and for people in the 25 to 49 age group, but 2 per cent lower than the Scottish average for people over the age of 50.

Councillor Maginnis added:

"Economic activity is a key issue affecting North Lanarkshire and its people and the council recognises this as one of our priority areas. Our Policy and Economic Development Services continue to deliver and develop programmes designed to help people enter the labour market, such as the Full Employment Project, Action Plan Plus, Working for Families and Lanarkshire's Working. Meanwhile, we continue to sell North Lanarkshire to potential investors as a great place to do business."

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