Sharon Taylor, the Labour and Co-Operative Party parliamentary candidate for the Stevenage, has welcomed figures released today which show a drop in unemployment.
The number of people out of work fell to 2.46 million in the last three months to November, a drop of 7000 and the first time it has fallen since Britain entered recession, according to figures released today by the Office of National Statistics.
The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance decreased by 15,200 to 1.61 million – the biggest monthly fall since April 2007, whilst the number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work also fell by16,000
In Stevenage, 4.7% of the economically active population are out of work and there was a slight dip in the number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance.
Sharon Taylor said,
“It’s good to see that the measures the government have taken to try and help people stay in their jobs or return to work are having a positive impact, but there is still much more to do.
“The job market is tough at the moment and many people in our area are still worried about their future prospects, but these latest figures are encouraging.
“In December 1992, during the last recession, twice as many people were unemployed in Stevenage as they are now and I know the government is committed to helping as many people as possible stay in or find work.”