Fewer people claiming jobseekers benefits
The number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) in October fell by more than 1,900 according to figures released today.
They show that there were 298 fewer claimants in Derbyshire than there were in September, equating to an annual fall of 3,622 in the county.
In Chesterfield the number of people claiming out of work benefit stood at 1488 in October, which has dropped by 627 in comparison to the figure announced in October 2013.
The number of people in employment across the East Midlands fell by 3,000, to 2,212,000 in the three months to September, with the number of unemployed across the region rising by 5,000 to 132,000.
There were, however, 53,000 more people in work than in the same period in 2013 and 33,000 fewer unemployed, the figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
Chris Hobson, Head of Information and Representation for the East Midlands Chamber, said: “Once again, the JSA count statistics released today are positive and continue the month-on-month falls we have seen locally since the start of the year. We’d expect this trend to continue into the final few months of the year as the effect of seasonal employment contracts comes into play.
“There is some concern about the fall in employment and increase in unemployment which we need to be mindful of, but it’s important to stress that at this stage, it is a short-term variation rather than part of the long-term year-on-year trend.
“The employment market is constantly evolving and as some industries contract, others grow. This often results in the need for retraining or possibly relocating, but there are jobs available for most people who want them.
“The engineers facing redundancy from Rolls-Royce will be a highly-prized asset to other engineering concerns. This is confirmed by the results of the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey in which members and non-members in the sector have told us they are having difficulty recruiting.
“There may be salary and travel considerations, but the jobs are out there and we would expect to see the majority of those engineers quickly finding new positions.
“Many of our members have said they have capacity in their production capability and the focus now needs to be on driving production through domestic and international sales.
“But there are still other issues to be resolved such as holiday pay legislation and zero-hours contracts. The business community is also waiting with bated breath to find out when interest rates will start to rise and by how much.
“Investment in staff, machinery and premises will be deferred as long as possible while uncertainty about those matters remains. Business hates uncertainty.
“All the above considered, the Chamber would expect unemployment to continue to fall or, at worst, hold steady during the early part of 2015 but would not like to predict what might happen beyond the General Election in May.”
Source:East Midlands Chamber
