Rochdale is a tough place to find a job

Figures show that Rochdale is one of the hardest places in the country to find a job. Figures released show that on average, 44 job seekers apply for every advertised job vacancy.

Only in Salford and Hull  is it tougher to find a job.

Job search engine Adzuna produced the study which compiled real time lists of job vacancies from 300 different sources.

Currently the North West of England accounts for 3.3% of UK job vacancies compared to 46% in London and the southeast of England. The figures released show that half of all UK job vacancies are currently in London and the southeast of England.

In July, the borough showed signs of improvement with the number of people claiming job seekers allowance falling to 6,895.

The North West region also showed a sign of improvement last autumn with job recovery starting to steady but this improvement has since slowed down.

Councillor Peter Williams, cabinet member for economic development and customer services at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “It is no secret that the market is tough at the moment. However, we have been going to great lengths in Rochdale to safeguard jobs, create new employment opportunities and attract inward investment from businesses. And on the whole have been successful.”

“In fact in the last two years at least 3,000 new jobs have been created in our borough and we have ambitious growth plans for the future – by 2015 an additional 3,500 new jobs will have been created in Rochdale Borough.

"Unemployment continues to fall and we have achieved the largest reduction in the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance benefits across Greater Manchester, proving that more people are moving from benefits into work.”

“We are also focussed on tackling youth unemployment head on through apprenticeship schemes and skills fairs that aim to bridge the skills gap between school leavers and the world of work. We want as many of our young people as possible to fulfil their potential. After all we want our next generation of workers to be armed with the skills required for a global economy.”

Figures show that Manchester had 3.1 jobseekers for every job advertised, Stockport had 6.7, Bury had 11.8 and Oldham had 15.8.