Jobless total falls in county

The number of people out of work in Shropshire has fallen by almost 150 over the past month, it was revealed today.

There were 5,198 people seeking employment during April, compared with 5,343 the previous month.

The largest fall came in Telford & Wrekin, where the jobless total was down by 74 to 2,581.

Shrewsbury’s total fell by 37, south Shropshire was down 29, and there were falls of seven and two in Bridgnorth and Oswestry respectively.

But in north Shropshire, where the unemployment register increased by four.

Shropshire’s figures were one of few bright spots on another miserable day for the Government, as unemployment across the whole of the UK rose by 13,000.

The number of people out of work in the three months to March now stands at 1.7 million, the worst figure since last autumn and up by 101,000 over the year. Manufacturing continues to struggle, with a further 49,000 jobs lost in the first quarter of this year.

Today’s figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed average earnings had increased by an inflation-busting 4.5 per cent over the past year, the highest figure since March 2004.

Last week, Chancellor Gordon Brow, frontrunner for the Labour leadership, joked in the Commons that an extra vacancy had been added after Tony Blair announced his resignation.