Unemployment falls for first time since June

In figures released by the Office for National Statistics unemployment across the UK was at its lowest for more than ten years in November.

The numbers were just as positive for Horsham with the district’s jobless total falling to 355 for the month, the lowest of the year.

In total the figure is a nine per cent drop on October and the first reduction since June. It is also a fall of more than 15 per cent on November 2015.

The amount of young people out of work has also fallen.

Figures show 40 people between the age of 18 and 24 were without work across the district in November, 11 per cent fewer than October.

The total is also a 27 per cent drop on November 2015.

Simon Hobday, of the Jobcentre Plus, in Horsham, said: “Locally we have been busy.

“We have run a number of sector based work academies for Waitrose in anticipation of their store opening in Haywards Heath early in the New Year

“We are running sector based work academies for Security staff in view of the significant number of retail and other store openings in the last 3 months.

“We continue to work on the recruitment for stores for Christmas recruitment such as Dunelm Mill, Marks and Spencer and Co Op.

“We have had meetings with the local NHS trust to try to raise the profile of NHS jobs with our customers and help other claimants in to jobs with NHS trusts in the area.”

West Sussex as a whole also saw a drop in unemployment.

Around 3,405 people were claiming Jobseekers Allowance across the county in November, three per cent fewer than October and 13 per cent less than last year.

The amount of 18 to 24-year-olds out of work also dropped by nine per cent between October and November to 365. The figure is a decrease of around 42 per cent on November 2015.

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