Wolverhampton worst in the country for dole queues - with 10,000 claiming JSA

Dole queues in Wolverhampton are the worst in the country, with almost 10,000 people claiming Jobseekers Allowance.

While the number of working-age people claiming JSA is at its lowest since 2008, the city is still the joint-worst area nationwide alongside Hull.

Council bosses today admitted it was one of the greatest challenges facing the city. But the Tory opposition leader said they needed to 'wake up and smell the coffee' and put an end to the jobless crisis.

Wolverhampton, on 5.7 per cent of working-age claimants, is way above the West Midlands average of 4.4 per cent.

Almost 10,000 residents are claiming JSA and while this is down almost two per cent on this time last year, Tory leader Wendy Thompson said the figures still weren't good enough.

"How can we be the lowest of the low in the West Midlands? There's obviously something wrong," she said. "There's something wrong in Wolverhampton and explanations are required.

"The council need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's our children, our future, and it needs sorting out."

In some areas of the city, including Heath Town, more than nine per cent of working-age residents are claimants.

Councillor Thompson added: "The people of Wolverhampton deserve an explanation as to how it got to this.

"It's affecting our shops, our city centre, how much we spend on social services, everything.

"There is a general economic upturn and other parts of the country are on the move, so why not us?"

The council's regeneration chief, Councillor Peter Bilson, said the latest figures stressed the importance of attracting new investment to the city after a series of big announcements in recent weeks, the latest being the University of Wolverhampton taking over Springfield Brewery in a £60m project.

Councillor Bilson said the figures 'masked some important positive trends' and added: "Wolverhampton's JSA claimant count is at its lowest level since December 2008.

"The council recognises that one of the greatest challenges facing the city is to secure employment and high-quality jobs for the people of Wolverhampton.

"As recently as February 2013, no less than eight per cent of Wolverhampton's population was claiming Jobseekers allowance.

"A reduction of two percentage points since then would be important in itself, but the fact is that claimant numbers went down by 1.8 per cent in the 12 months to August 2014 alone.

"These figures seem to show that far from stagnating, Wolverhampton's economy has begun to accelerate."

"The most important thing now is to get behind the city and to tell our story loud and clear - Wolverhampton means business."