Unemployment figures released

Data released by the Department for Work and Pensions today showed a drop in the number of Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) recipients compared with last year.

Horsham district had 371 claimants (27 per cent down from last year) with 75 of them in the 18-24 age range (29 per cent down)

Crawley had 893 claimants (18 per cent down from last year) with 145 of them in the 18-24 age range (19 per cent down)

Mid Sussex had 306 claimants (14 per cent down from last year) with 55 of them in the 18-24 age range (15 per cent down)

Simon Hobday, relationship manager at Horsham’s Jobcentre Plus, said: “It’s a fairly tight labour market, in that we’ve quite a large number of jobs that we’re struggling to fill.

“Many of the businesses are recruiting for their seasonal uplift over Christmas, particularly in retail services and care - those are the industries that are finding it difficult to source their applicants.”

He said examples include Poundland, Gatwick retailers, and the B&M branch about to open in Crawley.

Mr Hobday added that there is also a high demand for people to join apprenticeship schemes.

“We’re struggling, in some areas, to fulfil our apprenticeships. We’re trying to sift through our 18 to 24 year olds to find new applicants.”

The national unemployment figures can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions

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