Devon’s Job Seekers Allowance claimants falls in March

The total number of claimants in March came to 4,297, or just 0.9% of the working age population of Devon.

To put this into context, there has been a 34% fall in claimants between March 2013-2015 - the claimant count having more than halved since March 2013 when total claimants stood at 9,603.

Similarly all of Devon’s eight districts experienced a decrease in claimants of around a 5% between February and March 2015 - Torridge having the highest proportion of it’s working age population claiming JSA at 1.4%.

However, the figure for Torridge is still far below the national average of 2%, with rates in all of Devon’s Districts standing at just 0.95% on average.

Youth unemployment (the number of people aged 24 and under claiming JSA) also fell by 7% for Devon between February and March 2015 - the largest fall experienced in Torridge where youth claimants fell by 15%. However, whilst a positive sign, youth unemployment remains high totalling 24.4% of all claimants in March 2015 (around 2% higher than the national average).

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said: “This month’s JSA figures are a very encouraging sign that the Devon’s economy continues to grow.

“However we cannot be complacent and youth unemployment whilst falling still remains a concern that we need to address.

“Our ‘Enterprise in Schools’ grant has supported schools across Devon to promote entrepreneurship amongst young people.

“Schemes of this sort are important in equipping the next generation with the skills they need to face the challenges of the modern jobs market.

“We continue our work to encourage more employers from a range of sectors to offer apprenticeships.

“Young people in Devon are our future workforce and it is vital to our economic growth that we attract and retain young talent within the county."