Shropshire jobless figures continue to fall in record low
Dole queues in Shropshire fell to a new record low last month, according to new figures released today.
It comes after a seventh consecutive monthly decline in the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance during September.
In Telford & Wrekin, 1,321 people signed on - 1.2 per cent of the working population - while in Shropshire the figure was 1,500, or 0.8 per cent. Both had broken their own previous records with last month's data.
Powys broke its own record for the number of people claiming the benefit for the fifth month in a row, with 820 people signing on last month, or 1.1 per cent of the working population.
The figures compare favourably to the wider region, as two per cent of people in the West Midlands are now on Jobseekers Allowance, as are 2.1 per cent of Welsh workers, and 1.6 per cent of eligible people across Great Britain.
The local data goes against a national trend which found more people are claiming the benefit, after the Office for National Statistics reported a nationwide increase by 4,600 to 796,200.
Overall, however, unemployment fell by 79,000 between June and August to 1.7 million.
