North West unemployment continues to fall

New Labour Market statistics have revealed that the rate of unemployment has fallen over the past year. The figures show that unemployment has fallen by 92,000 and the number of people claiming job seekers allowance has fallen to its lowest since May 2011.

Minister for Employment Mark Hoban said: “There are record numbers of women in work, fewer young people unemployed and more vacancies available for those looking for work.” Out of a surveyed 3,445 people living in private households, student halls of residence and NHS accommodation in the North West, 3,168 of them were employed with only 277 unemployed. During the period of January to March 2013 unemployment dropped by 18,000.

The number of young people claiming job seekers allowance has also dramatically dropped in the last quarter. With 6,000 less claims being made this year, this shows an eleventh consecutive drop in claims for this benefit. Mr Hoban commented: “We are seeing continuing falls in the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance which is positive.”

Mr Hoban added: “We are not complacent. To win the global race we need to do all that we can to help people achieve their aspiration to look after themselves and their families.” Unemployment levels have slowly been decreasing but this latest fall shows one of the biggest recent drops.

Figures show that there are more than half a million job vacancies in the UK - the highest number since 2008. The North West was the third highest region to be surveyed during the latest collection of results with a new survey taking place in June.