Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in Wyre Forest in February was 851, which represents a rate of 1.8% of the economically active population. This is the lowest level in Wyre Forest since records began in 1971 and beats the constituency record set last month.
Comparatively, 686 more people are in work than in April 2014 . This is also 61 lower than in March 2015. Nationally, the number of people out of work is at its lowest for seven years.
There are now 1,458 less claimants than in May 2010 when Mark Garnier MP was first elected. At that point, the claimant rate was 4.8%. Since then, Wyre Forest has continued to witness a substantial fall in unemployment and a rise in full time jobs and wages.
Mark Garnier said: "These are very positive figures. I am pleased that Amtek are now advertising vacancies and Specsavers are increasing their presence and will keep hiring locally. Smaller local businesses are also continuing to hire and invest in apprenticeships, which is a good sign. We should continue to see the unemployment rate drop further still in the coming months. Importantly it will also push up wages. This rise in wages and employment continue to be felt locally showing that the continuity of Conservative policies will benefit Wyre Forest immensely."