By Matthew Legg Business editor

Last updated at 13:46, Monday, 02 April 2012

Women have borne the brunt of job losses at Cumbrian councils since the General Election, new figures have revealed.

According to research by the GMB union, 90 per cent of people who left Allerdale council between January 2010 and September last year were female.

At Cumbria County Council, women accounted for 80 per cent of people who left or who were made redundant. In Copeland, the figure was 72 per cent.

The gender split was reversed at Carlisle City Council, with just 22 per cent of the people leaving or being made redundant being women.

Allerdale lost just three male workers during the period, while 33 women left.

At the county council, 257 men went but 1,289 women were lost.

Copeland saw male numbers drop by 15, but the number of female employees decrease by 39.

Across all north west councils, the average number of female job losses as a proportion of the total was 65 per cent.

The figures are based on headcount numbers so also include people who have left to take other jobs or who have retired.

Paul McCarthy, GMB regional secretary, said: “The drop in the number of women employed in local government and state schools in the region accounts for two thirds of the drop in numbers employed by these councils since the General Election.

“This is a direct result of Government cuts in public spending.

“This was entirely predictable because the public sector employs more women than men.”

He added: “The drop in the number of women employed in the public sector means a serious loss of income.

“Many households depend on having income from two wage earners to pay the mortgage and the household bills.

“The impact will be even worse in the quarter of households with children that are headed by lone parents, 90 per cent of whom are women.”

First published at 11:28, Monday, 02 April 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk