Devon's JSA claimants fall 12% in a year

The number of Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants in Devon has fallen by 12 per cent in a year.

JSA claims in January 2016 increased slightly by 150 compared to the previous month, December 2015 with the total now standing at 3,752 claimants.

Despite this small rise, the figure is still 12% lower than the same period last year, and 65% lower than January 2012.

A small rise in January is typical of Devon’s seasonal employment associated with the festive season.

Overall the claimant rate for Devon - the proportion of the county’s working age population- remained the same at 0.8%,  half of the UK average of 1.6%.

All districts, with the exception of Torridge and Mid Devon, experienced slight increases in claimants - the largest increase being Teignbridge (39 claimants), followed by South Hams and West Devon (37 claimants each) and North Devon (31 claimants).

The claimant rate remained largely unchanged from December with most districts experiencing no change - North Devon, South Hams and West Devon increasing by just 0.1%.

The number of younger people (those aged 24 and under) claiming JSA in Devon fell by 20 claimants from December.

All districts, with the exception of Exeter, either experienced no change or small reductions of between 5 and 15 claimants – the largest fall being found within Teignbridge.

The proportion of Devon JSA claimants aged 24 and under reduced by 1.4% from December, in contrast to the UK which experienced a 2.6% increase.

The largest fall in the proportion of younger claimants locally was in West Devon which experienced a 4.5 % increase.

Devon County Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said:

“It is good to see the consistent trend for reductions in JSA claimants over the last few years continuing into 2016; the current figure 12% lower than the same time last year.

“The fall in youth claimants across all Devon’s districts is especially  encouraging, especially in areas such as Torridge and North Devon.

“Devon County Council continues to work closely with local businesses and educational institutions to ensure both current and future workforces are suitably skilled - pursuing schemes that aim to deliver growth and resilience for the Devon economy.

“This includes schemes such as the Enterprise in Schools Grant; Devon Delivers Business Promotion grant; and our collaborative work with the Local Enterprise Partnership, working to secure European funds for upskilling Devon’s workforce.”