Covid: Isle of Man back-to-work scheme helped 163 at a cost of £1.3m

The scheme was launched in October last year

A scheme to support the long-term unemployed on the Isle of Man helped 163 people get jobs at a cost of about £1.3m, the treasury minister has said.

The Manx Re-Start scheme offered firms support of up to 70% of new employees' wages for a 52-week period.

It was launched in October 2020 in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

David Ashford said the scheme had "provided a significant boost" to the economy during a "challenging period".

The programme was funded by the government's £100m Economic Recovery Fund, which was set up to help support the Manx economy in the wake of the pandemic.

Unemployment on the island hit a peak of 1,347 people in April last year and remained above 1,000 for several months.

'Cost neutral'

The grants were introduced to help those who had been out of work for more than three months to be "matched" with an employer, who would then receive financial support.

Initially designed to help 120 people, the scheme was ultimately extended to match 163 workers with businesses.

Mr Ashford said, given those involved would previously have been receiving an average of £11,856 a year in Job Seekers Allowance, the initiative "would have needed less than 110 matches for the scheme to have been cost neutral to government".

"In my opinion, the Manx Restart Scheme has been an excellent initiative, which has helped both unemployed individuals and local employers and provided a significant boost to the Island's economy during what has been a challenging period," he added.