Jobless figures in Telford & Wrekin at lowest rate for five years
Unemployment in Telford & Wrekin today dropped to its lowest figure in five years, as record numbers of people are now in work.
The number of unemployed people across the UK fell by 18,000 between June and August to 2.49 million, according to the newly-released data from the Office for National Statistics, while a record 29.87 million people are now in work.
But the Telford figures were even more positive, with the number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in the borough hitting their lowest number since December 2008.
Unemployment fell to 3,771, or 3.5 per cent of the working population, according to today's figures. Shropshire Council's area also enjoyed a sharp decline in joblessness, with its own figure reading 4,032, or 2.1 per cent of the working population, also the lowest level since December 2008.
It means the figure has dropped every month since February, as the economy begins to edge upwards.
Shropshire Chamber of Commerce president Keith Winter, of Dyke Yaxley Chartered Accountants in Telford, said: "The fact that Jobseeker's Allowance has fallen is tremendous news, and in Shropshire I think it's because a lot of people are starting in self-employment.
"People are grasping the nettle, and as an accountants we are getting more people asking about self-employment than we have had for many years.
"We are getting two or three young people a week saying they want to have a go on their own. People are seeing we are moving out of recession, and want to be part of that."
Nationally, 3.2 per cent of people picked up Jobseeker's Allowance in September, a figure unmatched since January 2009 and which came about after a 41,700 decline to 1.35 million, and in the West Midlands four per cent of people signed on for the benefit.
