Number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance drops fifth month in a row (From This is The West Country)

Number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance drops fifth month in a row

2:00pm Saturday 18th August 2012 in Devon

THE number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance in Devon has fallen for the fifth month in a row. The number of claimants across the county dropped by 0.6% from 9,327 in June to 9,271 in July, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The county council says seasonal employment has contributed to the fall but the rate of the working age population (aged 16-64) claiming JSA has remained at 2% this month.

This bucks the national trend, which has seen a 0.5% rise over the same period from 1,564,156 to 1,572,672.

Youth unemployment was unchanged between June and July with the|number of JSA claimants aged under|24 sitting at 2,760 while nationally|the figure increased 2.6% month on month.

Cllr William Mumford, county council cabinet member for economic regeneration and strategic planning, said: “The figures are about what we expected – seasonal employment continues to filter through, but at a slower pace, which is normal for this time of year. “The slow rate of growth is expected to continue, and the contraction seen in the national economy could mean overall unemployment levels will continue to remain high for some time, but for now Devon’s labour market continues to benefit from seasonal employment opportunities.”

The number of people out of work across the UK as a whole fell by 46,000 to 2.56million in the three months up to June, according to the new figures.