Unemployment in Luton and Dunstable falls

There are now 2,635 people claiming job seekers allowance and the number of 18-24 year olds unemployed has dropped by 37.9 per cent.

Mairead McGeoghan, customer service operation manager at Luton, said: “It is good news for Luton and Dunstable, the numbers in employment are continuing to rise and those not in work is falling.

“I believe the drop in the amount of young people unemployed is linked to the work experience we have been providing for them with local employers.

“We have been working with over 40 employers, including Amazon, Next and KFC in Dunstable and Poundland at Gypsy Lane.

“This is helping people find work because they are getting experience, adding more to their CVs and getting references.

“When people come into the centre and make a claim they have a coach who works with them until they find a job.

“We try to get lots of different employers in different sectors on board to create more options for those looking for jobs. We have a twitter account where we regularly post jobs and we have computers and wifi in the centre for people to look for jobs and we talk to them about interview preparation and how they can improve their CVs.

“We have 60 per cent of those claiming JSA finding a job within 13 weeks and 94 per cent within 52 weeks. Every week the number of people unemployed is going down, it is great news.