Mark Garnier MP has welcomed the latest unemployment figures which show sustained low unemployment in Wyre Forest
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of unemployed claimants in Wyre Forest in August was 1,206 which represents 2.6% of the economically active population.
This compares to a claimant count of 3.8% in the West Midlands region and 3.1% nationally.
The number of claimants is 866 lower than in August 2013 and 10 lower than in July 2014. The claimant rate was 4.8% when Mark was elected in 2010. Since then Wyre Forest has witnessed a substantial fall in unemployment and the claimant count has dropped considerably by almost half.
Nationally there are 774,000 more people in work since last year and long term unemployment is down 175,000.
Mark Garnier said “We have a consistently low claimant count in Wyre Forest. It is continuously lower than both the regional and national average. This low rate is good news for our area and shows that all of the hard work that we do locally to combat unemployment is paying off.
“Nationally and locally it is good to see so many more people in work than this time last year. There has also been good news with regards to inflation which has fallen to 1.5% as the cost of petrol and food has dropped. All of this highlights that our economy is strengthening and becoming more stable.
“However it is important to not be complacent and I will continue to hold events such as jobs fairs in Wyre Forest to ensure that the claimant rate in Wyre Forest remains low.”