Unemployment claims rocket near airports

Airports and their surrounding areas are logging more than double the unemployment rates of other areas, according to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation.

Its analysis of unemployment benefit claims during the pandemic found that they rose an average 145% between January 2020 and January 2021 in the constituencies around the UK’s top 20 airports. This compared with a 112% increase in benefits claims across the UK as a whole.

The problem was particularly acute around airports in the south east of England. The area around Heathrow reported a 221% increase, Gatwick’s constituency was 224% up, while Stansted’s saw a 228% increase in claims.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8748