Fewer jobseekers in 1066 country heralded

The number of people claiming jobseekers’ allowance in Hastings fell by 11 per cent with 170 fewer than last year, the Office of National Statistics labour market statistics show.

In Rother, there were five fewer claimants, a drop of one per cent.

Jobcentre Plus manager Chiquita Moore heralded the ‘good news’ for both 1066 country and the south east, which sees a record high level of employment of 4.5m people.

The number of people in work rose by 92,000 in comparison to 2015 and unemployment fell by 26,000 compared to this time last year.

Employment minister Damian Hinds said: “We’re determined to make Britain a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.

“This includes helping more people of all ages and abilities to get into, and stay in work.

“There’s good news in the South East with the highest employment rate of any UK region, and over 4.5 million people in work.

“Clearly, good progress has been made, and I’m encouraged to take forward the agenda to create an even more resilient labour market.”

Nationaly, the employment rate is at a record high of 74.4 per cent and the unemployment rate is at its lowest in over 10 years at 4.9 per cent.

The statistics confirmed there are a record 31.7m people now in work – up by 624,000 in the past year and over 2.6m since 2010.

The rise in employment continues to be driven by full-time work. Average wages before bonuses grew by 2.2 per cent over the last year.

Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green said: “This remarkable set of figures shows that there are more people in work than at any other point in our history, which is fantastic news as we build a Britain that works for everybody, not just the privileged few.

“We’ve entered a period of significant change, but when it comes to our jobs market we’re in a position of strength, with over 2.6m more people in work than there were in 2010, the number of workless households cut to an all-time low, 750,000 vacancies in the economy and wages rising too.

“Our job now is to build on this success story so that everybody can benefit from the opportunities that are being created regardless of who they are or where they come from. Encouragingly, employment has risen in all regions and nations of the UK over the last year.”

Today’s statistics also show the female employment rate is at 69.6 per cent, the highest since records began in 1971.

And at 5.6 per cent, the proportion of 16-24 year-olds who have left full-time education and are unemployed has never been lower.

However, critics say the figures do not take into account those who are in employment but are on zero hours contracts.

Data from the Office for National Statistics also suggested the national rise was partly due to women working longer because of the rise in pension age.

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