Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in Wyre Forest in June was 706. This represents a rate of 1.5% of the economically active population aged 16 to 64.This is the lowest level ever in Wyre Forest, since records began in 1971 ,and beats the constituency record set each month for the past 4 months.
The number of claimants is 589 lower than in June 2014 and 74 lower than in May 2015. There are now 1,603 fewer 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 great figures and demonstrate the real innovation and hard work that has been put in since the recession. However more can be done. As we get to this low level of unemployment, we need to work harder to find those still unemployed useful work. However, we are now getting to the position where we will start to see stronger earnings growth and that is good for everyone in Wyre Forest."