‘Drug dealing is getting them some huge cash so that they suppose, why ought to we work?’: Life on the frontline in Britain’s greatest unemployment advantages hotspots
Residents living on the frontlines of Britain’s unemployment benefit hotspots have said youngsters would rather reap the profits of drug dealing than work.
MailOnline canvassed local views after exclusively revealing Britain’s unemployment benefit hotspots – with some areas seeing rates soar by over a third in the last year.
House of Commons library analysis showed the hotspot constituencies across the UK, with more than 1.8million people getting government support.
Birmingham and London dominated the top 20, with Perry Barr claiming the top spot for high unemployment rates.
There, some 16.3 per cent of the working age population receive unemployment benefits.
Tottenham and Barnsley also proved to be job deserts with benefit rates surging in the respective areas.
And now MailOnline has taken to the streets of the country’s unemployment benefit hotspots to unveil what life is like on the frontline.
BARNSLEY: AREA CRUMBLED AFTER MINES CLOSED
A boarded up shop in the South Yorkshire town, which is one of Britain’s unemployment benefit hotspots
In Barnsley, 40,000 of working-age adults are out of work, with 42 per cent of working-age adults economically inactive due to long-term sickness or disability (Pictured: A closed shop in Barnsley)
A smashed window of a boarded up shop in one of Britain’s unemployment benefits hotspots
In Barnsley, 40,000 of working-age adults are out of work, with 42 per cent of working-age adults economically inactive due to long-term sickness or disability.
It has one of the lowest employment levels in the whole of Yorkshire at 71.9 per cent.
Only Rotherham and Bradford were lower at 68.8 and 68.1 percent respectively, according to Government data.
The South Yorkshire town has never fully recovered after mines closed in the mid 1980s.
The townsfolk have blamed the excruciatingly high unemployment rates on a lack of industry in the town, since many businesses up and left after the coal mines shut up shop.
However rapidly vanishing industries are not only to blame, as locals believe some youngsters would prefer to deal drugs than work.
Retired welder James Houlton, 82, who worked in the mining industry for five decades lays blame with people having ‘no motivation’ to be employed.
The great grandfather, who first started working in the coal mines at the age of 15 told MailOnline: ‘They don’t want to work. They get too much money not working. They have no motivation.
The coal mines could not keep up with foreign competition, which was cheaper
A row of shuttered shops on a street in Barnsley as members of the public walk by
Barnsley has one of the lowest employment levels in Yorkshire at 71.9 percent (Pictured: A Lloyds bank up for let in Barnsley)
John Player (left) believes unemployment is rife in the Yorkshire town because it’s a place people don’t want to leave, Rose Goldsmith (right) thinks schools must do better
‘Also, especially round here, there are no jobs for them, there are only call centres.’
Despite the town centre improving in recent years, according to James, there are still very little to no opportunities for young people.
‘If I could still work, I would. I worked for 50 years from the ages of 15 to 65,’ he said.
‘But there are no opportunities for the youngsters. I despair for my grandkids and great-grandkids.’
Waitress Lindsey Whitehead, 47, who has worked in her current restaurant for three years, explained that in her heyday most people left school to work for lightbulb manufacturers CEAG, clothing company SR Gent or down the mines.
She said: ‘When I was at school there were loads of factories for the young ones and they didn’t have to look for jobs, they’d go straight to the factories.’
‘I went straight to CEAG before I went to college. But a lot of people left school and stayed there. If you weren’t academic it could be a job for life,’ said Lindsey.
‘Obviously, for the lads it was the same, they had loads of factories to go to work in, and there were always the mines.’
Lindsey Whitehead believes industries up and leaving Barnsley after the coal mines shut down has contributed to the unemployment crisis
James Houlton thinks young people in the area have ‘no motivation’ to get up and work
Although there are still shops in Barnsley, Lindsey argues there aren’t enough for the copious amount of people wanting and needing jobs.
The mother also believes there is a lack of opportunities for those who are academic, with her son having to go to university to become a teacher.
Her daughter is less academically inclined and is still looking for a job.
Lindsey pointed out that had they been the same age she would have worked in a factory.
‘She hasn’t got many qualifications, but she’s brilliant at practical stuff. If she was born when I was born she would have gone off to the sewing factory,’ she said.
‘There are just less opportunities. Nothing is going to reopen. Everything is online, it’s all imports from where things are more cheaply made and they don’t pay the workers like we do.’
Darrell Moore, 56, helps on his friend’s market stall some days, but is unable to hold a full time role because of illness, said drug use has plagued the town.
‘Barnsley has a problem with the druggies. They are unemployed, taking drugs. I don’t think half of them are bothered to get a job around here,’ he said.
‘I help my mate out with his stall. I get out of the house, and make myself useful, but plenty don’t.’
John Player, 49, said unemployment was high because ‘Barnsley is one of those places where people, when they grow up, they want to stay’.
However, other youngsters told a very different tale as they planned to leave the withering Yorkshire town after they go to university.
Retired NHS medical education teacher Rose Goldsmith, 63, who was born and raised in Barnsley, believes reform of the curriculum is the answer to devastating unemployment rates.
She believes the only way to break toxic cycles of unemployment transcending generations is through education.
The part-time exam invigilator said ‘truancy’ was at the root of the issue, adding that parents and schools need to have better relationships so students are more engaged.
She said: ‘As far as I understand, there are jobs, but young people are realising their parents have never worked, so why should they?
Only Rotherham and Bradford lower at 68.8 percent and 68.1 percent respectively, according to Government data
The South Yorkshire town has never fully recovered after Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher closed the mines in the mid 1980
A general view of Barnsley which has been given the unenviable title as the unemployed hotspot of Britain
‘I had an example of a pupil the other day, who said “I don’t want to get my exams Miss, because my brother didn’t get his, and he’s got a job”.’
‘It’s lack of motivation and an attitude and parenting,’ she added.
‘They are comfortable in the amount of benefits they received. I’m not saying it is everyone, because a lot of people deserve the benefits.’
‘They are comfortable in the amount of benefits they receive. I’m not saying it is everyone, because a lot of people deserve the benefits.’
‘They are comfortable in the amount of benefits they receive. I’m not saying it is everyone, because a lot of people deserve the benefits.’
A £2million scheme is set to be launched in Barnsley to help get unemployed people back into work, with an application for funding set to be made to the government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, which will replace previous European grants.
If successful, residents would receive support for training, as well as connections to workplaces in the town.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to ‘help reduce the barriers some people face to employment and support them to move towards employment and education’, the Government said.
The council’s cabinet is set to approve the funding at its next meeting on 21 February.
PERRY BARR: 15 PER CENT OF PEOPLE UNEMPLOYED
A building drowned in graffiti on Birchfield Road in Perry Barr
A man approaches a car in Perry Barr, which takes the top spot for unemployment
Lifestyle Express shop owned by Nafeesa Wahid, who said the store is constantly targeted by thieves
Nafeesa Wahid, who runs the Lifestyle Express shop next to the job centre isn’t surprised, quipping that the issues were ‘obvious’
The West Midlands seat of Perry Barr took the number one spot in the findings by the House of Commons, with around over 15 per cent of the population in receipt of unemployment benefits.
Although many of those claiming will be in jobs, the data suggests that the rising cost of living has been leaving increasing numbers struggling to get by.
Despite the area being plagued with homelessness issue the residents of Perry Barr were shocked to discover their plummeting employment rates.
Locals told MailOnline how once ‘nice area’ had changed dramatically over the course of the last five years.
While resident, Peter Voake, 80, was unaware of the excruciatingly high unemployment rates, he was quick to point out the homeless issue the area faced.
The former railway worker said: ‘I didn’t know it was among the lowest but I can see why. There’s a lot of homeless people, Witton down the road is just as bad.
‘You see them all lying in the bus shelters. We’ve got all these HMOs, houses of multiple occupancy, around the area.
While resident, Peter Voake, 80, was unaware of the excruciatingly high unemployment rates in Perry Barr, he was quick to point out the homeless issue the area faced
‘It used to be a really nice area but around five years ago you suddenly had all these people living in the bus shelters, drinking and smokeless.
He added: ‘I don’t know why but jobs are an issue here.’
Jeffery Guy, 75, said the loss of local industries could be the cause for a distinct lack of job opportunities, as shops have continued to disappear over the years.
The former construction worker, said: ‘The job centre used to be shops. It’s big, but it must be because there’s quite a few in need of jobs around here.
‘I don’t know it’s bad. There used to be a load of small industries around here, but a lot have gone. Nothing has really come and replaced it.
‘There used to be rows of shops and small industries but all the buildings have been knocked down.’
He continued: ‘We used to have a massive pub here but even that has been knocked down.’
Similarly to Peter, Jeffrey pointed out the homeless issue the area faces, adding that ‘it’s got a bit worse in the last two years’.
Fifty-year-old church worker, Yese Dayou from Bloxwich, said he had sometimes noticed people ‘who look unemployed’ hanging around in groups.
Church worker Yese Davou lives in nearby Bloxwich. He said: ‘I’ve never really noticed the unemployment. I’m here a lot.
‘They’re smoking and drinking. Sometimes you’re afraid that they’ll attack you,’ he said.
‘Anytime of the day, especially in the evening. I have heard jobs are bad here though.’
Messi Kifle, 42, a carer from Perry Barr said she hadn’t realised the area was suffering with such high levels of unemployment.
Messi, who has lived in the area for the last five years, said: ‘I didn’t know it was that bad. I used to see a lot of homeless here.
‘Its always been the case here. It’s stayed the same pretty much. I’m shocked it’s that low. I haven’t heard people be concerned about jobs from church.’
Although other residents are stunned to hear the area’s unemployment rates, Nafeesa Wahid, who runs the Lifestyle Express shop next to the job centre said the issue haunts her shop daily.
The 33-year-old said: ‘Noticed is one word for it. It’s quite obvious. It’s not hidden.
‘There’s more theft in this shop. We’ve got another shop in another location and it’s worse here.
‘Because there’s a homeless shelter not too far from us, it does affect us. I’m not saying it’s all homeless people doing it.
‘I didn’t know Perry Barr would have the lowest, but we know that it is quite hard for people here.
‘Just last week someone stole over £40 here. We’ve got over 10 cameras in the shop, two on each aisle.
‘There’s a lot of people who hang around and smoke drugs, it’s an issue.
‘We’ve been here since February. Before then this location was smashed up, missing copper pipes and broken. It was in a bad state like the rest of the area.’
Former nurse, Arnette Swain, 56,said she’s also noticed ‘a lot of people using the foodbank’ in Perry Barr.
‘Some are coming in the week, some come on Sunday. We had one lady last week who said she hadn’t eaten for three days,’ she said.
‘I think as well people just need to know what’s in the area so that they can navigate correctly.’
‘You have the job centre down there. It’s a big job centre. But then if you look at the area, yes it’s a big job centre, but there’s a lot of wasted area.
‘There could have been a community centre to help people. I’m not sure what it’s all for.’
TOTTENHAM: ‘A DUMP THAT HAS GONE DOWNHILL’
A food market in Tottenham, which has also been crowned one of Britain’s unemployment benefits hotspots
Cars driving along a busy street in Tottenham, north London, where unemployment is high
Elsewhere residents in London’s unemployment benefits hotspot – Tottenham – believe the influx of drug dealers are to blame for nose-diving employment rates.
However, unlike the locals of Perry Barr, Tottenham residents weren’t shocked to hear about the new statistics, branding it a ‘dump’.
Some were quick to blame the affordability of the area for attracting the jobless, while others casting blame an influx drug dealers.
Margaret Ward, 69, who has lived in the London town her entire, wasn’t shocked in the slightest when we broke the news to her about the shocking findings, branding it a ‘dump’.
‘This has been going on for years. There are a lot of drug dealers around here. They do it so blatantly and never get caught,’ she said.
‘It is a dump. It has gone downhill. They closed down all of our shops. There isn’t anything here.
‘All anyone cares about is Tottenham Hotspur stadium. The rest of the area is forgotten. I don’t know when it is going to end.’
Mick, 59, who has also lived in the area his entire life, has blamed lack of employment down to youth being unwilling to work, adding that criminality exacerbated the issue.
He said: ‘There is a lot of unemployment because so many people don’t want to work.
‘It is the sort of area where there is not a lot going on. North London is a bit run down in places. There are a lot of youngsters that don’t want to work.
‘There is a lot of drug dealing around here. The criminality doesn’t help the situation. The crime is getting them lots of money so they think ‘why would I get a job?’
The former construction worker is currently out of work due to an injury, believes many others also share his struggle in the area.
He added: ‘There is nothing to do unless you are physically fit and can be a builder.
Analysis by the House of Commons library shows the hotspot constituencies across the UK, with more than 1.8million people getting government support
Clyde Vrupliavskas, 20, says he had struggled to get his current retail job, due to the amount of experience employers required from young people
While some were shocked to discover that ‘up-and-coming’ Tottenham was riddled with unemployment Melissa Mechekaur, 20, who was born there was less than surprised.
She branded the north London town as ‘quite a poverty-stricken area’, which was plagued with criminality.
‘I think the area is not good. It is dangerous,’ she added: ‘Since COVID it has gone really downhill. There are so many drugs around.
‘It is really hard to find a job. I have been looking for over a year and I still haven’t got one.’
Anna, who has lived in the town for 16 years has blamed the affordability of the area for attracting those out of work.
The 50-year-old said: ‘Its just the area, it is affordable and has lots of council properties. People are in a deprived area with low opportunities.
‘There are lots of people on the low end of things.’
Clyde Vrupliavskas, 20, says he had struggled to get his current retail job, due to the amount of experience employers required from young people.
‘As a young person it is very hard to find a job because of experience. I feel like it is a problem all over the country,’ he said
‘It would help if we were encouraged to volunteer for charities from the age of around 15.
‘Then they would have something under their belt to prove they know how to work hard.’
He explained that his friends struggled to find jobs for months before eventually landing roles.
