Jobs gain welcomed by chamber of commerce

The total number of unemployed people in the East Midlands fell to its lowest level since June 1996 in the three months to April, according to figures released today (Wednesday).

The statistics, from the Office for National Statistics, show that there were 142,000 unemployed people in the region between February and April 2014, a fall of 22,000 on the previous three months and of 37,000 on the same period in 2013.

Employment levels increased. There were 94,000 more people in work in the three months to April than there were a year previously.

The number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) also fell significantly across the patch (see table below), with the number of claimants in Nottingham falling to its lowest level since October 1998 and since May 2001 in Nottinghamshire.

Chris Hobson, head of information and representation at the chamber, said: “Today’s employment figures are extremely positive across the board and underline the fact that the economy is now showing real signs of sustainable growth.

“The chamber is currently surveying its members about their prospects for the months ahead and an early analysis of the figures would suggest that around a third of businesses plan to recruit in the next three months to meet a growth in business, so we’re hoping for more good news as the year progresses.

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