THE DWP claims that Jobcentres in Glasgow need to close because of a falling claimant count.

UK Government Ministers have said so, DWP officials have said so and Annie Wells, Conservative MSP for Glasgow, repeated their claim in a debate at Holyrood.

While stating she “will not condone nor condemn” the closures plan she said claimant count had reduced by 44% in the city since 2010.

Official figures show there has been a significant drop, but the figures do not take account of a spike in unemployment following the financial crash of 2008 and do not represent a full picture of the pattern of unemployment in the city.

The years chosen by the DWP and Conservatives for comparison appear to be carefully selected as other years show unemployment in the city has remained at roughly similar levels and other statistics show the problem of intergenerational joblessness has also not moved much.

In December 2016 the Jobseekers allowance claimant count was 3.1% or 13,225 people. In December 2010 it was 6% or 24,448, However in December 2007 prior to the financial crash and the subsequent job losses the Glasgow figure was 3.4% or 13,131 which was roughly the same level for many of the previous years.

Pauline McNeill, Glasgow Labour MSP, who took part in the debate at Holyrood said the figures before the financial crash are a better guide to unemployment levels in Glasgow.  She said: “The Conservative’s in Parliament used the figure of a 44% reduction in unemployment to justify the closure of half of Glasgow Jobcentres.  “This, however, uses a period of time which incorporates the aftermath of the financial crash which distorted the unemployment figures upwards.  “Unemployment in 2016 was roughly the same as it was in 2007 meaning the 2016 figures are more in line with normal unemployment rates in Glasgow rather than representing any real decline.”

Figures for ILO unemployment, which is higher than purely counting JSA claimants, shows a similar pattern. For October 2015 to September 2016, the last period where figures are available unemployment was 7% or 20,000 in Glasgow compared to 5% in Scotland and 5.2% in the UK.

Comparing with October 2009 to September 2010 it would show a decline from 11.7% or 33,300 people.

But taking the financial crash into account and looking before 2008 to figures for October 2007 to September 2006 to September 1007 it would show a rate of 7.4% or 20,300.

The figures show that Glasgow has a persistently higher unemployment rate than Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Figures for workless households show the rate in Glasgow in December 2015 at 25.4%, again higher than Scotland and the UK.