A rise in the number of people on unemployment benefits in Shropshire does not necessarily mean no jobs are being created, a recruitment firm in the county said today.

Rachael Stone, director of Shrewsbury-based Red Recruitment, said she believed the latest figures were a ‘mere blip’ and said businesses were actively seeking to recruit people.

The number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin rose in July, despite unemployment across the country falling to its lowest level for a year.

• Shropshire jobless figures bucking national trend

Both areas suffered their first rises in claimants since February, rising to 4,542 from 4,464 in June in Telford, and from 4,728 to 4,818 in Shropshire.

Ms Stone said: “The signs we’re seeing in Shrewsbury, with a broad range of businesses recruiting or signalling their intention to do so, suggest that these statistics are just a mere blip, and in the months to come, the figures will revert to a downward trend.”

She said: “With the number of applications at a record level, it is understandable that many get the impression that jobs simply aren’t there, although this is actually far from the case.”

Richard Sheehan, Shropshire Chamber of Commerce managing director, said: “Our last quarterly economic survey covering the period to June clearly showed employment intentions were positive – people had increased their staff and there was a suggestion that in the following three months they would continue looking to recruit.”

The improvement nationally was weighted towards London, suggesting temporary work for the Olympics may have skewed figures.

The jobless total fell by 46,000 in the quarter to June to 2.56 million, an unemployment rate of eight per cent. Average earnings increased 1.6 per cent in the year to June, up by 0.1 per cent on the previous month.

The number of people in work increased by 201,000 to 30 million, the highest since last summer, with half the rise coming in London.