Counties' jobless totals rise

Shropshire and Powys bucked the national trend with a rise in the number of people seeking Jobseeker's Allowance.

Nationally the number of claimants fell for the 11th month in a row. But in Shropshire there was a rise of 45 in the figure, up from 4,797 in July to 4,842 last month, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The rise was reflected across the region with only Telford & Wrekin showing a substantial fall in the number of claimants, down 30 from 2,319 to 2,289. In Shrewsbury & Atcham the figure fell by one, from 823 to 822.

But elsewhere in the county there were rises.

In Bridgnorth the number of claimants was up 21 from 426 to 447, while in North Shropshire there was also a rise of 21, from 533 to 554.

South Shropshire's figure rose by 18, from 286 to 304 while in Oswestry there was a jump of 16, from 410 to 426.

There was a similar upward trend in neighbouring Powys, where the number of claimants rose by ten, from 1,142 to 1,152.

Nationally unemployment has continued to fall and the number of people in work has reached a record high, according to today's statistics.

The jobless total was cut by 28,000 in the three months to July to 1.65 million, the lowest for more than a year.

The number of people in work reached a record high of 29.1 million.