Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce welcome drop in unemployment figures

Another set of positive employment figures have been welcomed by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and Nottinghamshire City and County Employment and Skills Board.

Government figures released this morning showed 55,000 fewer people unemployed across the country than a year ago.

The number of Jobseekers Allowance claimants in the East Midlands was down 21,021 compared with a year ago at 83,582.

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In Nottingham, there were 11,893 people claiming Jobseekers Allowance in October, 1,702 fewer than the previous year.

The county figures show that in Nottinghamshire, the year on year claimant count fell from 16,110 to 13,136.

Nationally, unemployment fell by 48,000 in the three months to September and now sits at 2.47 million.

In the East Midlands unemployment has fallen by 15,000 in three months while in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, unemployment has fallen by 2,600 (to 86,000) over the same period.

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In-line with this, the number of people in employment both nationally and regionally increased in the last three months; the UK saw 176,000 people move into work while the East Midlands saw 45,000 individuals enter employment.

The East Midland’s economically active population increased by 29,000 in the same three months, and now stands at 2,325,000.

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Once again, we’ve seen big falls in the number of JSA claimants across the region, which is encouraging and underlines the improved conditions businesses are reporting generally.

“Seasonal recruitment will have a big effect and when we see the seasonally-adjusted figures after Christmas the picture may be a little less rosy, but it is still very welcome news that so many people have moved back into work.

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“The key message continues to be that things are progressing well. Firms are buoyed by renewed confidence and more are now able to make longer-term decisions on investments and staffing levels.”

Philip Lovett, of Nottinghamshire: City and County Employment and Skills Board, said: “The trend of falling unemployment in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire continues to mirror the national picture.

“This reflects the continued improving business conditions in the area with demand pressures now at a level that necessitates the recruitment of staff to fulfil this demand.

“Concerns still remain for those people in the labour market that have been unemployed for some considerable time, have lower skills and for young people. However, with continued focus of local partners to address the skills challenges of these groups, it is heartening to see that the employment prospects particularly for young people are gradually improving as the pace of growth in the local economy continues.”