Fierce competition in job market

And although Bexhill's Jobcentre Plus currently boast nearly one hundred and fifty job vacancies, Mona, 46, said the problem is not necessarily that there aren't any jobs around, more that employers are spoilt for choice when it comes to filling a vacancy.

American Mona, from Portland Oregon, has been a resident of Bexhill for the past eight years and up until a few months ago worked as an office manager in a printing firm, a position she held for five and a half years.

Mona said: "I have been out of work since a month before Christmas 2008. I have never been unemployed for this long in my life and I've been finding it hard. I have applied for a wide variety of posts, filled in many application forms and had three interviews."

She added: "There are jobs out there but there is just such a lot of competition; employers have so much choice and it's difficult for them."

Mona was recently short-listed for a job but said the employer had so many applicants they ended up creating a whole new position completely different from the one advertised."

She said: "I was so excited - it was a great job as an office manager. They told me they really liked me and I was in the top two, but then they had so many more applicants of well qualified, well educated, mainly males who had been made redundant, that they ended up creating a different post."

Announcing an investment of 2bn to help people get back to work, James Purnell, Secretary of State said: "The impact of the global recession is being felt here at home, and finding a job is not easy. We are investing 2bn to help people get back to work as quickly as possible"

He added: "We are launching a range of measures to give people all the support we can '“ from CV writing and job searching to skills checks and training opportunities '“ to make sure that where it happens unemployment is short and people can quickly find their way back to supporting themselves and their families."

Jobcentre Plus in Bexhill currently has a varied selection of one hundred and forty seven job vacancies, which include positions for carpenters, plasterers, chefs, healthcare assistants, receptionist, telesales, dance and maths teachers.

In addition JCP nationwide are offering a range of incentives, not only for those seeking employment, but also for employers looking to recruit new staff.

Kim Goodall, Customer Service Operations Manager for Bexhill and Hastings said: "Some professions, such as care and catering have more vacancies than applicants. As part of our service to jobseekers we offer Work Trials, so that a person can try out working in a new sector without losing their benefits. It's a no-obligation trial, and often people are surprised to find that their skills transfer across better than they thought. It's good for employers as well because they get to try out potential new staff."

Statistics show that most unemployed are getting back to work quickly with 75% of people moving off Jobseekers Allowance within six months. But for those who don't, an enhanced offer is now available which includes:

* Personalised support from a Jobcentre Plus advisor who will work with customers to identify the steps appropriate to enable a swift return to work.

* A recruitment subsidy, or 'golden hello', for employers worth 2,500.

* Support for those who want to become self-employed with advice on creating a business plan and employment credit of 50 per week for sixteen weeks so that they have financial support during the early days and months of trading.

* Access to 75,000 new work-focussed training opportunities to help people to significantly increase their skills in order to enter work. The training, delivered on either a part-time or a full-time basis, will allow people to progress to a full qualification if they are in or out of work.

* Work-focused volunteering placements '“ to help Jobseeker Allowance claimants develop or maintain skills whilst looking looking for a job.

Kim said that Jobcentre Plus is also actively encouraging local companies to advertise their vacancies with them.

She said: "We want to encourage local employers to use Jobcentre Plus to advertise vacancies for free and use our support with their recruitment."

She added: "We are already working successfully with Hastings Direct, through a Local Employment Partnership and have helped seven people back to work with the company in the last three months."

For more information visit the website at: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk