Jobless figure almost at four year low

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THE NUMBER of people out of work across Redditch has fallen to close to a four year low.

Latest figures released on Wednesday (October 17) revealed there were 1,905 people claiming Jobseekers Allowance in September - 30 less than the previous month and close to 300 fewer than the same period last year. The last time the unemployment figure was lower was December 2008.

But competition for jobs remains fierce, as while there are over 700 vacancies available in the Jobcentre alone, there is still only one job for every 2.7 jobseekers.

There was also some good news on youth unemployment with slight falls in both the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming out of work benefits and those young people claiming for more than six months.

But despite slipping from top spot, Greenlands still has the second highest youth unemployment rate in the county.

Redditch MP Karen Lumley welcomed the figures and also pointed to the fact in the first six months of this year the number of new business start-ups had increased by 14 per cent, as reported by the Standard last week.

"This is creating new jobs and new investment, showing how the Government strategy to get people back to work is working through supporting measures such as the Town Centre Partnership (TCP)," she said.

"Nationally the number of people in employment has also increased with the highest number of people in employment since 1971. Since coming into government we have now created over one million private sector jobs, helping to rebalance the local and national economy."

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