Hartlepool jobless claimant count down for second successive month

The number of people classed as looking for work in Hartlepool fell in June for the second successive month.
The latest North East jobs figures have been releasedThe latest North East jobs figures have been released
The latest North East jobs figures have been released

There were 4,050 people claiming out-of-work benefits - Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance - in the town last month, down from 4,105 in May.

The claimant count in Easington fell by just five, to 2,620, and in Stockton North it was down by 115 in June, to 2,205.

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But Sedgefield saw the claimant count rise by ten, to 1,565.

Steven Martin, from JobCentre Plus, said: “Hopefully, with Universal Credit, we are attracting more people to the JobCentre.”

The centre had organised a series of events and campaigns to help people to find work, he said.

“We recently held a jobs fair, so local employers could get to meet potential employees face-to-face.

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“The majority of activity in this latest period has been in the retail sector.”

Planning is now under way for one of the busiest time of the year.

“We have already started our discussions with employers about the Christmas period,” said Steven.

“We have our Christmas job fair provisionally arranged for September.”

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Across the North East, the number of people classed as unemployed was 61,000, a fall of 17,000 over the year - but employment was also down 24,000 over the year, to 1,201,000.

Paul Carbert, North East England Chamber of Commerce Policy Adviser, said: “The figures released this morning show a slight dip in the number of people employed in the North East, following several quarters of sustained growth.

“However, unemployment is also down on the same period last year, and the unemployment rate and level is at a record low.

“The fall in employment is mirrored by an increase in the number of people classified as economically inactive.

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“The North East economic inactivity rate is above the national average.

“This highlights the need to ensure that everyone in the region can access labour market opportunities. The Chamber will continue to champion initiatives to improve wellbeing in the workplace, with a particular focus on mental health.”

Tara Sinclair, of global job site Indeed, said: “Unemployment and inactivity are at their lowest for more than four decades, and employment is still marching upwards, leaving unanswered the question economists have been asking for months - how high can it go?”

“The great mystery is why such a tight market is not delivering faster wage growth.”