Shropshire cheer in national job stakes

The latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics show that unemployment in south Shropshire is not only falling, but is significantly lower than other areas of the county - even the similarly rural north.

Meanwhile Telford is the only part of the county where unemployment is actually higher than the national average, particularly for young people.

MP Philip Dunne has put the difference down to the fact that the rural south mainly relies on small businesses, which are growing, rather than big industry.

Unemployment in the Ludlow constituency - which covers a large part of the south from Bishop's Castle to Bridgnorth - is now at 1.4 per cent, less than half the 3.3 per cent national average.

But it is also significantly lower than other areas of the county, with Shrewsbury and Atcham at 2.2 per cent, north Shropshire at 2.5 per cent, and Telford at four per cent.

Youth unemployment figures follow the same trend, with the south at 2.3 per cent, Shrewsbury at 3.1, north Shropshire 4.3 and Telford at seven per cent. The national average for youth unemployment is four per cent.

Mr Dunne said: "I suspect the answer may lie in the pattern of employment. We have essentially an SME (Small to Medium Enterprise)-based economy, with no very large employers dominating employment performance.

"SMEs are seeing steady growth in activity across many different sectors.

"Wherever I have been this year, employers have told me they are looking to hire staff as their business grows."

Andy Boddington, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow north said: "In the last two years, unemployment in the Ludlow constituency has fallen by nearly half.

"What I hear from people around town is that this is a place where there isn't much employment, especially for young people.

"But I think our assumptions are wrong. We think we have worse employment than everywhere else, and it's not true.

"In this area a lot of people are self-employed - they make their own work when they can't find it elsewhere.

"There is a major problem that many youngsters move away because we lack jobs for well-qualified young people. But unemployment levels amongst the young that remain are not as high as many people would expect, and they are falling."

Richard Sheehan, chief executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce said Mr Dunne may be right, but it was unlikely there one single factor involved.

"There are a number of very densely populated areas around Telford which have faced considerable challenges in employment for some time, with a quite a long history," he said.

He said there was a lot of very positive work going on to try to help the situation, however, and pointed out that many who live in south Shropshire may be finding work in Telford and Shrewsbury.

Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council and member for Oswestry South said: "Shropshire must have the lowest unemployment in the West Midlands, and it's nice to see the figures so low, particularly in the south of the county but we're not resting on our laurels."

He said a business park created as part of the Mile End roundabout works in Oswestry was "good news for the north" as it should create thousands of new jobs.