Jobless rate falls for young workers

THE number of residents claiming out-of-work benefits in Oldham has risen since last year, however there are fewer 18 to 24-year-olds looking for work, figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded 4,230 people in the borough claiming job seekers allowance - a two per cent increase on recordings this time last year.

But there is a 17 per cent reduction from last year in 18 to 24-year-olds seeking work with 1050 claiming.

Since the height of the recession in 2010 unemployment for 18 to 24-year-olds in Oldham has decreased by 51 per cent while overall the number of people seeking work has fallen by 36 per cent.

Oldham Jobcentre will hold a jobs fair on September 28 to help people seeking work with over 30 employers attending with McDonald's, GMP, NHS and Tesco to name a few.

Although Oldham has seen a slight rise in unemployment figures the North-West as a whole saw improvement with 67,000 gaining employment, this also saw a record 1.63million women in work.

Damian Hinds, minister for employment, said: "When it comes to our jobs market, we've made progress since 2010 with employment up in every region.

"It's good news in the North-West where the number of people in work has risen 67,000 over the past year.

"It's important that we work to keep up this momentum so more people can make the most of opportunities available out there in the economy."

ONS figures showed a record number of people in work nationally, with the employment rate reaching 74.5 per cent.

Statistics showed job vacancies increased by 3,000 to 752,000 between June and August, which includes two months after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Average earnings increased by 2.3per cent in the year to July.