Almost 200 jobs have been lost at Shropshire Council since the beginning of last year, new figures have revealed.

But while the authority joins hundreds of other councils across the country that have been cutting jobs as cuts take effect, Telford & Wrekin Council has actually increased the number of people it employs, statistics from the Local Government Association have shown.

Data analysed by the GMB union shows Shropshire Council cut its full-time staff from 8,124 in the first quarter of 2010.

By the second quarter of this year it employed 7,927 people – meaning 197 jobs have been shed.

The 2.4 per cent fall in staffing levels puts the council as the 134th worst in the country for job losses.

But the number of full-time staff on Telford & Wrekin Council’s books rose by 10, from 4,538 to 4,548 over the same period, while the amount of temporary and casual workers on its books has gone from 1,983 to 2,145 – a rise of 162.

However, Councillor Bill McClements, cabinet member for resources and service delivery at Telford & Wrekin Council, said the authority had actually reduced its headcount.

“The figures quoted incl- ude staff employed directly by schools and also seasonal casual workers employed by the council,” he added.

“In reality Telford & Wrekin has managed a reduction in its direct workforce of around 200 people. This has been achieved with only 14 compulsory redundancies and GMB have participated fully in this approach,” he said.

In comparison, Shropshire Council cut the number of temporary and casual workers by 41, lowering the numbers it employs from 1,483 to 1,442.

Council leader Keith Barrow said: “We have to save £76 million over the coming years, and every team across the organisation is working to become more efficient and make savings wherever possible. We are managing any vacancies as they happen, and ensuring people’s skills are based where they can best serve the community. ”

Brian Strutton, national secretary for GMB said: “The awful reality is that in England alone local government job losses since the General Election have topped 100,000,” adding: “There are more to come.”

By Chris Burn