Notts: Jobseekers Allowance claimers on the drop as local economy continues to improve

The JSA Claimant Count for June 2014 stood at 10,331 in Nottingham and 10,815 across the county - down from 10,851 and 11,685 respectively in May.

There are now 2,814 fewer claimants in the city and 4,464 fewer claimants in the county than a year ago.

The East Midlands also saw the biggest increase in the number of people in employment in the three months to May 2014.

During that period, the number of people in work rose to 2.223m - an increase of 30,000 on the three months to February and an increase of 43,000 on the same period in 2013.

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Chamber of Commerce for Nottinghamshire, said: “The continued fall in both unemployment and the number of jobseekers benefits claimants is once again testament to the steady growth of the region’s economy and further underlines the Chamber’s own research about how well the economy has performed in recent months.

“The Chamber’s most recent Quarterly Economic Survey, which was released this week, found that 27% of local firms increased the size of their workforce in the three months to June and with a further 35% planning to recruit over the summer months, we’d expect the overall unemployment and claimant count figures to fall further in the months ahead.

“The UK is gearing up for next year’s General Election and the economy will be one of the key battlegrounds upon which campaigns will be fought. The Chamber would urge all political parties to ensure that nothing is done to destabilise the economy and undo all the good work which local businesses have done to secure the economic growth and jobs we’ve seen created over the past 18 months.”