One in five Hastings homes jobless

7:17pm Sunday 9th September 2012 in News By Neil Vowles

As many as one in five homes in Sussex have no adults currently in employment, according to new figures.

In 120,000 homes across the county there is no working day for the adults living there, according to the data released this week by the Office of National Statistics.
 

The number of jobless households across the county increased by 9,000 in 2011 from just 12 months earlier.
 

MPs have warned that growing up in jobless households could cause lasting damage for children.

Hastings has the highest rate of unemployed homes with one in five properties in the borough, 12,000 households, without any workers.
 

Affluent Chichester saw the number of jobless households double from 5,000 to 10,000 in just one year although council officials dispute the ONS figures.
 

In Brighton and Hove, one in seven households, 26,000 homes, has no working adults.
 

The city has actually seen a fall in the number of unemployed households by 1,000 compared with last year but the figure remained 7,000 homes higher than in pre-recession 2006.
 

Across the county, the number of jobless households has increased by 24,000 since 2006.
 

This week’s figures also showed a huge disparity between different areas  with less than 5% of households workless in Mid Sussex.
 

Hastings MP Amber Rudd said the area did suffer from a culture of dependency but she and the Government were working hard to combat this.
 

She said: “There are jobs in Hastings and that is why I am organising a jobs fair to try to get people to come and see what opportunities are available.
 

“It’s damaging for children to grow up in a workless household.
 

“We’re not just talking about a period of unemployment which can happen at any time but households where people expect to be workless and that’s what we want to break.
 

“It’s a case of the carrot and stick and that is why the Government is introducing conditions to welfare to help people back into work.”
 

A Chichester District Council spokeswoman said the figures were unreliable as they were based on figures from a survey with insufficient numbers of people.
 

She added: “Our unemployment levels have actually dropped over the last year, from 2.3% down to 1.9%.
 

“If there is an increase in workless households, it is likely to be due to the Chichester District seeing a high number of people retiring into the area, rather than an increase in unemployment.
 

“We have developed a Worklessness Strategy with the Local Strategic Partnership and are working with all our partners on this.”
 

Hove MP Mike Weatherley said: “We should focus on the positive which is that the number of unemployed is down from last year.
 

“Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go.”

Comments(19)

chrisinbrighton says...
7:28pm Sun 9 Sep 12

If they don't have a job send them home !

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Dave in Hastings says...
10:33pm Sun 9 Sep 12

"Hastings MP Amber Rudd said the area did suffer from a culture of dependency but she and the Government were working hard to combat this.
She said: “There are jobs in Hastings and that is why I am organising a jobs fair to try to get people to come and see what opportunities are available."

Amber Dudd - A Tory parachuted into Hastings from London who doesn't have a clue about the town. How are people supposed to get non-existent jobs?

I am so angry at this corrupt, incompetent, lying government.A culture of welfare dependency? What a disgusting insult to the people of this town. The one consolation is that this woman will be out on her ear big-time at the next election. Let's hope it is well before 2015.

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Dave in Hastings says...
10:34pm Sun 9 Sep 12

chrisinbrighton wrote:
If they don't have a job send them home !
And if that comment means what I think it does, then you should be ashamed of yourself. Ignorant and racist beyond belief.

Justify your statement please.

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Crystal Ball says...
8:49am Mon 10 Sep 12

chrisinbrighton wrote:
If they don't have a job send them home !
If they are jobless and at home then they are already there. Odd comment.

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Somethingsarejustwrong says...
8:55am Mon 10 Sep 12

Am I right in thinking that one in 5 households in Hastings therefore has some form of trophy dog i.e. a pit bull, has unlimited access to 'weed' and has 3 or more unruly children?

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F in L says...
9:26am Mon 10 Sep 12

Somethingsarejustwro
ng wrote:
Am I right in thinking that one in 5 households in Hastings therefore has some form of trophy dog i.e. a pit bull, has unlimited access to 'weed' and has 3 or more unruly children?
That would be Newhaven.

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Goldenwight says...
11:44am Mon 10 Sep 12

Would those figures include households where the adults present are retired and/or incapacitated due to illness or age, as Chichester DC suggest?

If so, the figures are obviously going to be seriously skewed. And there will be little or no effect on children in these households.

Argus, can you do a little reportage here and let us know the true position. I'm sure that the ONS actually considered this possibility when compiling their figures.

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Fairfax Sakes says...
12:57pm Mon 10 Sep 12

If they cant get a job, a job should be allocated by the state. if they refuse this, remove welfare. Failing that send them to jail or some community service cleaning up the the filthy streets and beaches. that'll seperate the sheep from the goats

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Somethingsarejustwrong says...
2:59pm Mon 10 Sep 12

Fairfax Sakes wrote:
If they cant get a job, a job should be allocated by the state. if they refuse this, remove welfare. Failing that send them to jail or some community service cleaning up the the filthy streets and beaches. that'll seperate the sheep from the goats
That's the OAP's addressed, now what about the unemployed?

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nocando says...
7:30pm Mon 10 Sep 12

I grew up in hastings, left school at 16 and joined the army. When I came home 6 years later, I spent 2 years trying to get work in that dump with no success. Moved to brighton and was in work within a week. Hastings is the arsehole of england, the only proper work there is for those administering the culture of dependancy.

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Somethingsarejustwrong says...
8:48pm Mon 10 Sep 12

nocando wrote:
I grew up in hastings, left school at 16 and joined the army. When I came home 6 years later, I spent 2 years trying to get work in that dump with no success. Moved to brighton and was in work within a week. Hastings is the arsehole of england, the only proper work there is for those administering the culture of dependancy.
And the motto of your story is?

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Dave in Hastings says...
12:15am Tue 11 Sep 12

The usual crop of ignorant, smart arse comments on here from people who give the human race a bad name.

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Somethingsarejustwrong says...
8:31am Tue 11 Sep 12

Dave in Hastings wrote:
The usual crop of ignorant, smart arse comments on here from people who give the human race a bad name.
That accounts for your's, although some of the other posters are borderline also.

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F in L says...
2:15pm Tue 11 Sep 12

Fairfax Sakes wrote:
If they cant get a job, a job should be allocated by the state. if they refuse this, remove welfare. Failing that send them to jail or some community service cleaning up the the filthy streets and beaches. that'll seperate the sheep from the goats
Are you suggesting they become Shepherds?

Bob Geldof, Tom Cruise and the Beckhams are three who i can think of giving humans bad names.

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Dave in Hastings says...
11:02pm Tue 11 Sep 12

Somethingsarejustwro
ng wrote:
Dave in Hastings wrote:
The usual crop of ignorant, smart arse comments on here from people who give the human race a bad name.
That accounts for your's, although some of the other posters are borderline also.
I rest my case.

Ever been to Hastings? Ever spent a day in the Old Town during one of the many fantastic community events?

Thought not.

Some absolutely insulting, pathetic posts on this thread.

Frankly, I am becoming more and more disgusted with this scandal rag that it allows such ignorant comments from morons.

Report this post »

Somethingsarejustwrong says...
8:42am Wed 12 Sep 12

Dave in Hastings wrote:
Somethingsarejustwro

ng wrote:
Dave in Hastings wrote:
The usual crop of ignorant, smart arse comments on here from people who give the human race a bad name.
That accounts for your's, although some of the other posters are borderline also.
I rest my case.

Ever been to Hastings? Ever spent a day in the Old Town during one of the many fantastic community events?

Thought not.

Some absolutely insulting, pathetic posts on this thread.

Frankly, I am becoming more and more disgusted with this scandal rag that it allows such ignorant comments from morons.
Dave

In response to your questions:-

1). Yes
2). Yes

Despite your passion for Hastings the facts speak for themselves and you don't have a case to rest - end of!

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thevoiceoftruth says...
8:13pm Fri 14 Sep 12

Dave in Hastings wrote:
Somethingsarejustwro

ng wrote:
Dave in Hastings wrote:
The usual crop of ignorant, smart arse comments on here from people who give the human race a bad name.
That accounts for your's, although some of the other posters are borderline also.
I rest my case.

Ever been to Hastings? Ever spent a day in the Old Town during one of the many fantastic community events?

Thought not.

Some absolutely insulting, pathetic posts on this thread.

Frankly, I am becoming more and more disgusted with this scandal rag that it allows such ignorant comments from morons.
Totally agree with you, Dave. There are some really sad specimens trolling this site. I'm sure 50% of the posts are by the same person under different pseudonyms.

Report this post »

Somethingsarejustwrong says...
9:33pm Fri 14 Sep 12

thevoiceoftruth wrote:
Dave in Hastings wrote:
Somethingsarejustwro


ng wrote:
Dave in Hastings wrote:
The usual crop of ignorant, smart arse comments on here from people who give the human race a bad name.
That accounts for your's, although some of the other posters are borderline also.
I rest my case.

Ever been to Hastings? Ever spent a day in the Old Town during one of the many fantastic community events?

Thought not.

Some absolutely insulting, pathetic posts on this thread.

Frankly, I am becoming more and more disgusted with this scandal rag that it allows such ignorant comments from morons.
Totally agree with you, Dave. There are some really sad specimens trolling this site. I'm sure 50% of the posts are by the same person under different pseudonyms.
And sadly the same names such as yours keep coming up and up, with no content of any note in the postings.

Report this post »

thevoiceoftruth says...
4:11pm Sun 16 Sep 12

Ah, you realised I was talking about you - clearly recognising you are a sad specimen - and leapt to your own defence. Hilarious.

Report this post »

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