Competitive market: Tough times for job seekers in Lincoln as national unemployment rises to a 17-year high.
Almost five people are competing for each job vacancy in Lincoln, as the national unemployment average rises to a 17-year-high of 8.4%.
There are 4.8 people claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) per Jobcentre vacancy in the city, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
In total, 3,058 people were claiming jobseeker’s allowance and they were competing for 633 vacancies listed by Jobcentre.
Lincoln fared worse than the East Midlands and the UK average with 5% of its working population claiming, compared to 3.7% in the East Midlands and 3.9% across the UK.
Men are struggling much more than women in the city, with 2,196, 7.3% of the male working population on JSA, against 862 women, 2.8% of the female working population.
Leader of the City of Lincoln Council, Rick Metcalfe, said: “Lincoln, along with every other UK city is feeling the pinch, but with one of our priorities being to reduce poverty and disadvantage in the city, we’re trying to ease that financial pressure in a number of ways.
“This includes working with the Credit Union with an access point at our Belmont Street Neighbourhood Office, and taking a number of our services into the community with a pilot in Abbey and Birchwood, meaning people don’t have to make that journey in to the centre of town to get advice and access to services.”
Jobseeker’s allowance is payable to people under pensionable age who are available for, and actively seeking, work of at least 40 hours a week.
More than a third (34%) of people claiming JSA were between the 18-24 age bracket but this situation is being addressed by local organisations.
Prospects are improving for youth employment, with a £1.8 million injection from the European Social Fund, specifically targeted to move 19-24 year-olds in the area onto apprenticeships.
ISIS Training, owned by Lincoln College, head up the program for unemployment in Lincoln and across the county, developing their Entice scheme to reduce youth unemployment.
Head of ISIS Training, Carol Smith, explained how people leave education with a lack of experience and the problem stems back to 16-year-old school leavers.
Smith said: “People come out of school with no direction but we now have our Entice scheme made up of one outward bound day, consisting of rock climbing, kayaking and snowboarding, and two vocational and English and Maths days per week.
The scheme comes with qualification linked work experience opportunities, where retail work experience can lead to a level one customer training qualification.
A dramatic video shows a car engulfed in flames in the car park at Lincoln County Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
An on-call crew from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue attended the scene on Greetwell Road shortly before 5pm on Tuesday, April 13.
The crew used one hose reel to extinguish the fire and fortunately no casualties were reported.
The car is probably a write-off. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Dramatic pictures from the scene show the severe damage that was caused to the front of the car.
Fall in county infections but a Boston spike
There have been 50 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 58 cases and no deaths this time last week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 19 in North Lincolnshire and five in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, none in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England has reported two new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust hospitals.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,472 to 4,375,814, while deaths rose by 23 to 127,123.
In local news, people aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
Over the weekend, Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate has fallen, with a spike in Boston only.
Similarly, the England average has also seen a drop in infections, but still remains nearly half Greater Lincolnshire’s rates.
Lincoln has dropped by more than half over the weekend and now has one of the smallest rates in the UK, with just 9.1 per 100,000 of the population infected with COVID-19.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates up to April 12:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 5 to Apr 12. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
In national news, Boris Johnson has warned that the reduction in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths “has not been achieved” by the rollout of COVID vaccines.
The prime minister, speaking the day after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, instead said it was the national shutdown that had been “overwhelmingly important” in driving down COVID rates.
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third COVID-19 vaccine in the nation’s rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,772 cases (up 50)
2,184 deaths (up three)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (up two)
4,375,814 UK cases, 127,123 deaths
There will be another Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln next week, rallying against a new government bill that diminishes protesting rights.
Protests have been rife across the country since the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was first discussed, with scenes turning violent in Bristol.
Over two hundred people peacefully took part in the city’s first march at Speakers’ Corner on April 3, including Extinction Rebellion activists and Socialist and Labour supporters.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Now, after a post started doing the rounds on social media, another protest has apparently been scheduled for 2pm on Monday, April 17 at the same location on Lincoln High Street, as part of a national day of action.
A poster promoting a second event has been shared across social media platforms.
Protests are lawful once again after the government eased lockdown restrictions on March 29, but organisers are required to submit a risk assessment prior to any event.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Organisers of the last protest were in close communication with police to make the event safe, and The Lincolnite has asked Lincolnshire Police if they have been made aware of another protest, but are yet to receive a reply.
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