Shropshire Star

Young jobless figure halved in Telford & Wrekin

The number of young people out of work in Telford & Wrekin has more than halved in a year, according to new figures.

Published

There were about 1,900 people between the age of 16 and 24 out of work between October 2013 and September, 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That is 2,500 fewer than the year before, when the number had risen to 4,400. It is a reduction of 56.8 per cent and means the borough's youth unemployment rate has fallen to 15.7 per cent from 33.7 per cent the year before.

It is the lowest Telford & Wrekin has seen since March 2009 and is below the West Midlands rate of 19.8 per cent and the England rate of 17.3 per cent.

Councillor Shaun Davies, council cabinet member for skills, said it was "brilliant news".

He said: "We're really pleased to be able to announce that we will be repeating the jobs fair again and this year to also be hosting a skills festival which will broaden the appeal of the event and provide more careers advice. I am continuing to push to meet Employment Minister Esther McVey to discuss how Telford & Wrekin Council is tackling youth unemployment."

More than £1.3 million was ploughed into tackling youth unemployment in January last year. It went towards boosting the number of Job Junction advice drop-in sessions and Job Box mentors were introduced to target 20 to 24 year olds who, statistics showed, were struggling most.

Councillor Davies has called on the Government to help the council, which faces another £9 million of budget cuts next year.

The council will host a jobs fair on March 18 and a careers advice event on March 19, both at the town's International Centre.

Meanwhile the number on the dole in the borough has also fallen to 1,921, 1.8 per cent of the working age population.

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