Small rise in unemployment (From Droitwich Advertiser)
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Small rise in unemployment
8:50am Friday 22nd March 2013 in News
Small rise in unemployment
THE number of people looking for work in Worcestershire has risen.
Figures for February from the Office for National Statistics have revealed there were 10,685 people in the county claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) - up on 10,359 the previous month.
However, numbers are still lower than the same time last year when 11,819 were receiving the benefit.
The claimant rate stood at 3.1 per cent of Worcestershire’s 16 to 64-year-olds, whereas this was 4.8 per cent in the West Midlands and 3.9 per cent in England, and the number of 18 to 24-year-olds receiving the benefit rose by 150 claimants to 3,030 - lower than the regional figure of 8.9 per cent and above the national rate of 7.1 per cent.
The number of people claiming for more than 12 months rose by 60 to 2,310 or 0.6 per cent - below the regional figure of 1.4 per cent for the West Midlands and one per cent for England.
Nationally, unemployment has increased for the first time in a year, with the jobless total rising by 7,000 to 2.52 million.
