Shropshire Star

Shropshire jobless figure increases again

The number of people out of work in Shropshire increased last month, official figures have revealed.

Published

In Telford & Wrekin there were 1,655 people claiming the various forms of benefit during March, with 1,945 in Shropshire.

The figures reflect a wider rise in unemployment felt across the country as a whole, as the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits nationally increased by 6,700 in March to 732,100, the first monthly rise since last August.

Shropshire usually experiences a brief fall-off in employment in the two months immediately after Christmas as temporary workers leave their festive roles.

The latest figures are more unusual, however, and reflect the third increase in claimants in Shropshire in the last four months.

Powys's claimant count fell, meanwhile, from 895 in February to 875 in March.

The national jobless total jumped by 21,000 between December and February to 1.7 million – the first rise since last summer – although the West Midlands cut its unemployment tally by 6,000 to 152,000.

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