Nearly a third of city households have no wages coming in

ALMOST one in three households in Glasgow have no wages coming in, official statistics have revealed.

Figures released by the Scottish Government show 62,000 households in the city - 28.9% of all homes - had no working-age adult in employment last year.

That puts Glasgow behind the national average of 24%, and way behind Edinburgh, where the level was 14%.

The stats also reveal a shocking 22,900 children in Glasgow live in a workless home.

Peter Kelly, director of the Glasgow-based Poverty Alliance, branded the figures a "scandal".

Mr Kelly said: "While the recession has had an impact across Scotland, Glasgow started in a position of having higher levels of deprivation and poverty.

"This is evidence that in a recession it is those on the lowest incomes who are hit the hardest.

"There is little doubt that unemployment means that people will struggle to afford the basics in life.

"For these families heating their home and putting food on the table is the challenge. In the 21st century that is quite clearly a scandal.

"We know that children in workless households, living in poverty, will have less chance in life than children from better-off backgrounds.

"We know that their education will be adversely affected and they are more likely to suffer health problems.

"The danger is that we perpetuate a cycle of worklessness and limited opportunity."

He said not enough was being done to help families struggling with unemployment and called for benefits to be increased.

"The first thing we need to do is to make sure people are adequately protected.

"These figures make it urgent that the Government look at the adequacy of welfare benefits, which have fallen dramatically over the past 30 years.

"If the Government is serious about tackling poverty then benefits need to be set at a level above the poverty line.

"At present benefits are below the Government's own definition of what constitutes poverty.

"We need to stop treating those on benefits as somehow fiddling the system and reconsider the current welfare proposals which will penalise the sick and disabled."

Glasgow City Council insists it is working to bring jobs and opportunities to Glasgow.

A council spokesman said: "The council and its partners have a wide range of initiatives in place to get people into jobs and support the city's economy.

"One example of how the council is aiming to tackle unemployment and support the city's economy is the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative, which sees around 900 school-leavers embark on training and employment schemes that will set them up with a career for life.

"Organisations of all sizes in the city are involved in this scheme.

"The other apprenticeship and modern apprenticeship places available in the city will provide a skill-base for the city that will attract future investment and employment and ensure that the past mistakes of failing to invest in Glasgow's future during difficult economic times is not repeated.

"Another example would be the success of Glasgow Works, who are working with jobless people to get them into employment or ready for work. They have placed more than 1200 people in jobs in the last year.

"Glasgow continues to be a city that attracts significant investment and new jobs and is seeing enormous regeneration projects such as the development of the Clyde, the completion of the M74 and the preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games that offer many opportunities for individuals and business."

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said the figures for Scotland as a whole reflected the impact the global economic downturn, but the statistics for Glasgow show the level of workless homes in the city has remained broadly static since 2005, long before the credit crunch set in.

Nationally, the number of people out of work in Scotland is approaching 200,000, with 192,000 out of work.

This was a rise of 13,000 on the previous three-month period - and a rise of 67,000 on the same quarter last year.

Mr Murphy said: "These latest figures show the economic downturn continues to have a serious effect on the Scottish labour market.

"Despite that, I know that the measures the UK Government have taken and the continuing support for the economy are working.

"The Government is providing real help for jobs and we are not giving up the fight for Scotland's future, for young and old alike.

"The previous recession taught us we could not afford to lose a generation to unemployment and this is why we are continuing to support Scottish youth employment."

Jim Mather, Scotland's Enterprise Minister, said: "Combating the personal, social and economic cost of rising unemployment is the purpose of our comprehensive recovery plan, which is supporting 15,000 jobs, and helping people get back into work." ROUND THE COUNCILS...

PERCENTAGE of households where no adult was employed last year: Glasgow City: 28.9 N Lanarkshire: 23.5 W Dunbartonshrie: 22.5 Inverclyde: 22.1 E Ayrshire: 21.5 N Ayrshire: 21.2 Renfrewshire: 18.2 S Lanarkshire: 17.2 S Ayrshire: 14.8 E Renfrewshire: 12.3 E Dunbartonshire: 11.9