Nearly 30,000 people in Leeds are now unemployed according to new figures.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed 28,915 people in the city were claiming unemployment benefits this April.
The number is up 60 per cent from 18,210 claimants in March, as an extra 10,795 people were added to the system in a single month.
Before lockdown, the number had risen from 17,695 people in February and 16,945 in January.
However, the proportion of people affected had remained relatively stable during that time, with 3.3 per cent of 16 to 64-year-olds in Leeds claiming benefits in January, 3.4 per cent in February and 3.5 per cent in March.
Now, the figure stands at 5.6 per cent of all working-age adults in the city.
Thomas Lawson, chief executive at Turn2us, said: “This sudden increase in unemployment as a result of coronavirus is, while not surprising, a significant cause for concern.
“There were already 14 million of us living in poverty before the pandemic and this is only going to get worse as more and more people lose their incomes and struggle to get by.
“This is why it’s so important that the government responds with practical solutions that reach everyone and prevent people from slipping through the net – living with no source of income.
“We have heard from hundreds of thousands newly unemployed people who have already spent their savings and now face hunger, homelessness and debt.
“The surge in applications for Universal Credit also highlights the crisis many are now living. Unfortunately, our social security system is not fit for purpose.”
Turn2Us is urging the government to expand their employee and self-employed income protection schemes to help those currently ineligible.
They are also calling for changes to Universal Credit such as ending the five-week wait for the first payment, increasing the work allowance and eliminating policies such as the two-child limit.
Nationally, there were 2.1 million people who were claiming unemployment benefit in April across the UK - up by 67% from 1.3 million in March.
It means 5.1% of working-age adults are now claimants.
Separate ONS figures showed UK unemployment rose by 50,000 to 1.35 million in the three months to March, and the number of people affected is likely to worsen sharply in the coming months.
Mims Davies, Minister for Employment, said: “The impact of this global health emergency is now starting to show – and we’re doing everything we can to protect jobs and livelihoods.
“What some of these statistics do highlight is that heading into the pandemic, we had built strong foundations in our economy, which will be crucial as we gradually move forward as the lockdown eases and look to bounce back.”
