Unemployment lower in this lockdown than the 2020 lockdown
THE number of people unemployed in Guernsey increased by 205 from January to February this year.
This meant the total number of people unemployed in Guernsey reached 1,000 at the end of February, while the island was still in Stage 1 of the exit from lockdown.
However, this is much lower than the number of people unemployed during comparative stages of the exit from the first lockdown in 2020.
Drawing direct comparisons between the two lockdowns is difficult due to the different restrictions that were in place, but during Phases 2 and 3 of the 2020 lockdown, the number of people unemployed were 1,568 and 1.631 respectively.
The total number of wholly unemployed people increased from 795 at the end of January 2021 to 1,000 at the end of February 2021, while 614 new claims for employment and income related benefits were made during February 2021. This figure compares with 490 new claims in the previous month.
The number of those who were receiving an employment or income related benefit, and who were already doing some form of work or had some income (e.g. payroll co-funding scheme) decreased from 552 in January 2021 to 506 in February 2021.
President of Employment & Social Security Deputy Peter Roffey said that while it was disappointing to see any increase in the number of people unemployed, it was important to understand the context of the figures.
'It is encouraging to see that this month's figures are actually significantly lower than the figures from comparative phases of lockdown in 2020.
'While being cautious about making these comparisons, this could perhaps suggest that we are seeing the benefit of a shorter period of lockdown,' he said.
Last month, the job centre promoted 101 adverts on its website and display board, compared to 318 in February 2020.
In Alderney 12 people were seeking jobs in February 2021, just two more than in February 2020.
Of those people who had no work, 583 were registered as male and 417 female, meaning there were 166 more men registered as wholly unemployed.
These figures are a snapshot taken on the Saturday following the end of February, when the Bailiwick was in Stage 1 of its exit from lockdown framework.
