Unemployment fell in Shropshire last month, as the jobs market in the county took a positive turn.
In three of the previous four months the number of people on different types of out-of-work benefits had risen, but it declined in both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin during April.
Shropshire Council’s area saw the number of people on benefit drop from 1,945 in March to 1,870, whereas Telford’s figure was flat, with 1,650 people signing on in April compared to 1,655 in March.
In Powys, 790 people were on benefit, down from 875 in March.
The figures reflected a national decline in the number of people out of work, with the national claimant count down by 2,400 last month to 737,8000, although revised data showed the figure rose by 14,700 between February and March, the highest total since autumn 2011.
Job vacancies were down by 18,000 to 745,000, the first fall for almost a year.
Unemployment dipped by just 2,000 in the quarter to March to 1.69 million, a fall of 139,000 over the past year.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb said: “These are another record-breaking set of figures, with more people in work than ever before and the unemployment rate is the lowest in a decade at 5.1 per cent.
“More people in work means that more families across the UK are benefiting from the security of a regular wage and the fulfilment that employment brings.
“But the job is not done, which is why our welfare reforms, such as Universal Credit, are making sure that it always pays to be in work.”
When broken down by parliamentary constituency, Ludlow has 395 people out of work, North Shropshire 745, and Shrewsbury & Atcham 670.
In Telford, 1,150 people are on benefits, with another 560 in The Wrekin, part of which is in Shropshire.
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– Shropshirestar
