More than 18,000 people in Monklands claimed Universal Credit in early April.
In the Airdrie & Shotts area, there were 8826 claims made, with neighbouting Coatbridge, Bellshill & Chryston amassing 9562.
This is a rise of just over 100 claims on the previous month for both the former (8723) and latter (9445) area.
For North Lanarkshire as a whole, early April saw 34,667 residents make Universal Credit claims – an increase of nearly 400 on the previous month’s 34,280.
Across Scotland, there were 490,426 claims put in as of April 8.
Universal Credit replaces the following benefits: child tax credit; housing benefit; income support; income-based Jobseeker’s allowance; income-related employment and support allowance; and working tax credit.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “Throughout the pandemic, the UK Government has acted decisively to protect lives and livelihoods in Scotland and across all parts of the UK, supporting jobs through our furlough scheme and the additional £14.5bn in funding for the devolved Scottish Government.
“While there are encouraging signs, there is no doubt that challenges continue and that our shared focus must be on getting people back into work, businesses back on their feet, and our economy growing.
“As the success of the UK Government-funded vaccine programme continues, recovery from the pandemic must remain our sole priority.”
