THE amount of people in Wychavon out of work fell again last month.

Figures released this morning showed the amount of people in the district claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in December fell to 737, compared with 1,076 12 months earlier.

This represents a 32 per cent drop over the past 12 months, meaning one per cent of adults aged 16 to 64 were out of work in December.

Mike Dzioea from JobCentre Plus saying the continued drop was largely down to an increase in job opportunities in the private sector, where 54,000 new roles had been created in the West Midlands in the last year alone.

“It’s all good news,” he said.

“What we’ve got is a general upturn in the economy.

“Overall unemployment has fallen below six per cent, which is the lowest level for six years.

“That’s what drives this and helps people get into work.”

He said the amount of young people in work or training had seen a particular increase, with 112,700 in the West Midlands involved in apprenticeships in the last year, 52,400 of who were started new schemes.

“We work with employers and training providers to help people gain the skills they need,” he said.

Mr Dzioea added the organisation was also working with older people who were either looking for a change of career or had been forced to find a new job by helping them brush up on their interview skills and gain new abilities that may help them back into work.

Head of community services at Wychavon District Council Phil Merrick also welcomed the figures.

“These latest figures confirm the strong growth of the local economy in 2014," he said.

"With £271m worth of business and infrastructure construction taking place in Wychavon at the moment the signs are very positive for local jobs in the future.“ Unemployment also fell in Worcester, where 1,180 people were out of work in December - or 1.8 per cent of adults aged between 16 and 64 - down from 1,733 12 months previously.

In the Malvern Hills the figure stood at 486 – down from 722 in December 2013 – or 1.1 per cent of adults between 16 and 64.

In the Wyre Forest the figure was also down from 1,740 in December 2013 to 926 last month, 1.6 per cent of working-age adults.

Nationally the amount of people out of work fell for the 26th month in a row to 867,000.