Horsham bucking national unemployment trend

According to figures released by the Office of National Statistics today (Wednesday July 15) unemployment was up across the country with 15,000 more people out of work between the March-to-May period compared to the three months previous.

However for Horsham the numbers were a lot more positive with the town seeing a drop of 11 per cent over the last month with 470 people reported to be out of work.

The figures also show a decrease of around 28 per cent over the last year, between June 2014 and June 2015.

The news is just as positive for Horsham’s young workers.

Around 65 people aged between 18-24 were reported to be claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in the town, a 13 per cent decrease over the past month and 27 per cent reduction on last years total.

Simon Hobday, relationship manager at the Jobcentre Plus said: “The figures look quite good and we are clearly pleased with that.

“Clearly the airport has increased the work in this area.

“They have had a couple of stores open and the retail sector in the airport has been quite buoyant.

“We have also seen a significant number of agencies increase the numbers of hours a week available for workers which means less have been coming to us.

“It would suggested there is more work generally available in the area and that would reflect the increase in the amount of people that are in work.

“It is pretty encouraging and its really good for the area.”

The figures show a similar pattern across the County.

Currently 4290 are out of work in West Sussex which is around a six per cent decrease on last months figures and a 26 per cent reduction over the past year.

For young people, aged between 18 and 24, the number of people claiming JSA has also dropped to 745.

The figure is nine per cent down on last months and 36 per cent lower than last June’s.

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