Nationally unemployment falls but Fylde coast shows little change

Unemployment nationally has fallen to an eight year low at 1.67m, but figures on the Fylde coast have shown little change.
Unemployment has fallen nationally but remains fairly static locallyUnemployment has fallen nationally but remains fairly static locally
Unemployment has fallen nationally but remains fairly static locally

Claimant count numbers released by the Office of National Statistics for April show that in the Parliamentary constituency of Blackpool North and Cleveleys, 1,435 people were claiming working age benefits, a decrease of 0.1 per cent on the same month last year.

In Blackpool South, 2,025 people claimed benefits in May, up 0.1 per cent on last year.

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The count for Lancaster and Fleetwood was 940, up 0.1 per cent and the figure for Wyre and Preston North was 355, the same as last year.

Fylde had 620 claimants, the same as last year.

Karl Worsley, employee and partnerships manager at Blackpool’s Jobcentre Plus, said the over all figures for the whole of the Blackpool area were unchanged from the same period last year.

But he said compared to 2010 when figures were first collated, there was a 28 per cent drop in the number of people claiming and a 52 per cent fall in the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming.

He said the Jobcentre had been carrying out a series of exercises and events to help people get ready for work.

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He said: “We are very busy at the moment, today we have an event going on in Queens Street for 18 to 24-year-olds focusing on traineeships and apprenticeships.

“We ran a successful event in Blackpool North last week called Caring for the Future looking at careers in the care sector which was well attended. We are currently doing a lot of work with Harry Ramsdens for their new restaurant at the Tower.

“We held work academies and split them into age groups 18 to 24 and 25 plus to make sure both had access to the opportunities.

“There will be around 100 jobs created there when it opens in July.

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“It’s an exciting project for us and it has generated a lot of interest and we have received good feedback from Harry Ramsdens.

“There is recruitment going on at Warbreck at the moment within the Department for Work and Pensions.

“They are looking for around 70 staff for the disabilities operations. These are executive officer roles and administration.”

He said in the coming months they were looking to focus on the small and medium sized private business sector.

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Nationally, the jobless total was cut by 20,000 in the quarter to April to 1.67 million, the lowest since the spring of 2008. 31.5 million people are in work – the highest since records began in 1971.