THERE has been another small drop in the number of people out of work in Worcester and the wider county.

According to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures, there were 3,020 people in the city claiming out of work benefits in August.

This is down on recent months, when 3,060 in the Worcester constituency claimed in July, 3,195 in June and 3,400 in May.

The figure is also down on a year ago when, that August, 3,835 claimed out of work benefit. In comparison, in the pre pandemic month of August 2019, 1,655 claimed.

In the Mid-Worcestershire constituency, which includes Droitwich and Evesham residents, 2,255 people claimed in August. That was down on the 2,305 that claimed in July, 2,310 in June and 2,530 in May.

In August 2020 3,065 claimed out of work benefits and two years ago, in August 2019, 1,000 claimed.

And in West Worcestershire constituency, which includes Malvern, 1,935 people were out of work in August.

This was a drop on the 1,970 who claimed in July and 2,025 who claimed in June.

In August 2020, 2,620 constituents had claimed, while in August 2019 890 people from the constituency claimed.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said: "I welcome the trend, and that it is falling, but it is still high.

"My key concern is that we push incentives out there - the kickstarter scheme and new apprenticeships - and get the support so people can get back into work.

"It's really important we give confidence to businesses to hire.

"The announcement on the Covid situation is about saying we have a plan to keep things open, and that will sent an important signal to businesses to keep hiring."

Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, said: “The latest figures (show) that over 600 fewer people claimed unemployment benefits than this time last year and that trend continues to fall. It is good to see that the Plan for Jobs is working as furlough is coming to an end.

“I’ve been talking to employers throughout the summer and there are many vacancies out there and many sectors have staff shortages.

“Unprecedented financial help has been available and now those who are out of work will be able to access the right skills training to help them to get back into full-time employment as soon as possible.”

Nigel Huddleston, Mid Worcestershire's MP, said: "We are still at a higher rate than we would like to be and than we were two years ago before the pandemic, but we are heading in the right direction for recovery. 

"As we’ve reopened, we’ve also helped people back into work with our Plan for Jobs.

"This includes a multi-billion pound investment into schemes like the £2 billion Kickstart scheme, which has already seen over 263,000 roles created - and the £2.9 billion Restart scheme which provides intensive help to over a million jobseekers who have been out of work for over 12 months.”