Looking for a job might become harder than ever for the UK population as the Government looks to close a large number of its Jobcentres across Britain.
There may well be thousands of job losses and those, faxing the axe, might well not have a job centre to start their search for new employment.
The Government believes that these jobcentres are under used and reforms are needed to streamline the operation. Union chiefs have claimed that over one in ten jobcentres will have to close.
As the UK prepares for Brexit, and an uncertain economic future for the UK, it could be wise to keep the jobcentres open, in case of an increase in unemployment over the next few years.
The DWP indicated that applications and claims for Jobseeker’s allowance and Universal Credit are now mainly carried out online, reducing the number of visits to the jobcentres.
The DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) said it hopes to redeploy employees to alternative offices and the number of redundancies would be “very small.”
Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: “We will always make sure that people have the support they need to get into and progress within work, that’s why we are recruiting 2,500 more work coaches to help those who need it most.
“The changes we’ve announced today will help ensure that the way we deliver our services reflect the reality of today’s welfare system.”
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said thousands of jobs will be put at risk, and unemployed people will have to travel further for help in finding work.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Jobcentres provide a lifeline for unemployed people, and forcing them to travel further is not only unfair, it undermines support to get them back to work.
“We are opposed to these closures and will vigorously fight any attempt to force DWP workers out of their jobs.”