Shropshire unemployment figures back in reverse

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin experienced a fall in the number of people claiming the various forms of unemployment allowance in June.

In Shropshire, the number of people out of work fell from 2,035 to 2,000 between May and June, while Telford's claimant count dropped slightly more sharply from 2,020 to 1,965.

It means the rate at which working age people now signing on in Shropshire is 1.1 per cent, and in Telford it is 1.8 per cent – both below the West Midlands average of 2.4 per cent.

The jobs market nationally continued to grow, after the number of people in worked climbed to a new record high of 32 million between March and May – a rise of 324,000 compared to last year and the largest total since records began in 1971.

But the number of people on the claimant count increased by 6,000 last month to 829,000, making Shropshire something of an outlier in the latest figures.

The total unemployment figure for the West Midlands grew by 6,000 to 166,000 in the three months to May.

While the number of people in work continues to grow, however, the pay squeeze on British households has intensified.

Average earnings grew by 1.8 per cent in the year to May, down by 0.3 per cent on the previous month.

Inflation marched to its highest level in nearly four years at 2.9 per cent in May, with the Bank of England expecting the cost of living to peak at three per cent by the autumn.

Matt Hughes, ONS senior statistician, said "The general picture is little changed on last month, with the overall employment rate and that for women both at record highs, the inactivity rate at a joint record low and the unemployment rate falling to its lowest since early summer 1975.

"Despite the strong jobs picture, however, there has been another real-terms fall in total earnings, with the growth in weekly wages low and inflation still rising."

Soaring inflation triggered by the Brexit-hit pound has put household spending power under sustained pressure since the start of the year, causing disposable incomes to fall and the amount spent on credit cards to increase.