Jobless figure steadies in Shropshire but continues to rise in Telford
A recent rise in unemployment in Shropshire ground to a halt last month – but Telford's jobless tally has continued to grow.
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the number of people out of work in Shropshire in April was 2,015 – compared with 2,020 the previous month.
The drew to a close three successive months of increasing numbers of out-of-work benefits claimants in the county.
Telford & Wrekin's rise continued into a fourth month, however, as 2,035 people signed on in April, compared with 1,935 in March.
The figures mean that 1.1 per cent of Shropshire's workers are signing on, while 1.9 per cent of those in Telford are now on the dole. The West Midlands as a whole has a rate of 2.5 per cent, while England's rate is 1.9 per cent.
In Powys, 795 people signed on in April, leaving the Mid Wales county with one per cent of its working-age population claiming benefits.
Nationally, the UK's unemployment rate has fallen to a 32-year low as a record number of people are in work.
The jobless total fell by 53,000 to 1.54 million in the quarter to March, a rate of 4.6 per cent, the lowest since summer 1975.
Average earnings increased by 2.4 per cent in the year to March, just 0.1 per cent up on the previous month and below the latest CPI inflation rate of 2.7 per cent.
Across the country, the number of people on the claimant count rose by 19,400 to 792,800, mainly because of an increase in those on Universal Credit.
