Another drop in the number of people searching for work in Eastbourne

Last month (December 2022) it was revealed from the Department of Work and Pensions that there were fewer people in the ‘searching for work’ category (ONS Claimant Count) for Eastbourne when you compared November 2021 to November 2022. Looking at December’s figures, there’s been another decrease. In December 2021 there was 3,280 people in the category, in December 2022 it was 2,695 which is an 18 per cent decrease. There’s been a similar drop in Wealden too.

Looking at the South East overall, 4.591 million people are employed, which is 42,000 up on the year. This equates to 77.8 per cent of people aged between 16-64 being employed.

Caroline Williams, Jobcentre manager from Eastbourne JCP, said: “Our work coaches are here to support people taking the first steps on their journey back to work. The priority is helping those 50+, and others who may need to build confidence and develop new skills because they’ve been out of the jobs market for a while.

“For the coming year plans are already in hand to focus activity on helping businesses recruit, as there are still plenty of vacancies available especially in the care, retail and hospitality sectors.

“Importantly changes to Universal Credit mean people are working more and keeping more of what they earn. Meanwhile our DWP ‘Find a Job’ website, has thousands of jobs on offer.”

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