Shropshire shares region's unemployment rise

The latest Office for National Statistics figures showed an 11,000 rise on the June to August figures for the region with the unemployment rate at 5.2 per cent.

Employment in the West Midlands was down 55,000 to 2.72 million for the three months with a rate of 73.2 per cent.

Nationally record numbers of people are in work and job vacancies are at their joint highest level since 2001. Average earnings increased by 3.4 per cent in the year to November, the highest for a decade, outpacing inflation.

UK employment increased by 141,000 to 32.5 million, the highest since records began in 1971. Unemployment also increased, up by 8,000 to 1.37 million, although the total is 68,000 lower than a year ago, said the ONS.

The UK's jobless rate is now four per cent, down by 0.2 per cent on a year ago, and the lowest since 1975.

The numbers claiming unemployment benefits, including Universal Credit, in the West Midlands rose 1,275 from November to 107,710 – three per cent of the working population – last month.

Shropshire saw the claimant count rise by 50 to 3,005, or 1.6 per cent of the working population.

Telford and Wrekin's claimant count dropped by 30 to 1,840, or 1.7 per cent of the working population.

The figure in Powys increased by 100 to 770, or one per cent of the population.

Universal Credit

Part of the reason for the rise in claimant counts over recent months has been the transfer of many people across to the new Universal Credit benefit system.

The national increase in both unemployment and employment is explained by the UK's rising population, and fewer people classed as economically inactive, which includes those on long-term sick leave, students, and people who have given up looking for a job.

The number of economically inactive people fell by 100,000 in the latest quarter to 8.6 million, a rate of 21 per cent, the lowest on record.

Employment Minister Alok Sharma said: "Once again, we see a new record employment rate in the UK, with more people in work than ever before.

"UK workers also got a much needed pay boost before Christmas with wages outpacing inflation for the tenth month in a row in November, growing at the fastest rate in a decade.

"There are 328,000 more people in work over the past year, almost entirely driven by full-time jobs as the Government delivers an economy that works for the British people.

"Our pro-business policies have helped boost private sector employment by 3.8 million since 2010."