THE amount of people in Worcester out of work has fallen to its lowest level since monthly records began in 2006.

Figures released this morning showed the amount of people in the city claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in December fell for the eleventh month in a row to 1,180 –793 men and 387 women.

This is down from 1,219 in November and represents a 32 per cent drop since December 2013, when the figure stood at 1,733, and a total of 1.8 per cent of working-age adults in the city.

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.

“What we’ve got is a general upturn in the economy," he said.

“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.

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.

Worcester MP Robin Walker calling the figures “wonderful news”.

“These types of figures have not been seen in Worcester since at least 2005 and, with the growth of the city during that time, it is likely that these are the all-time lowest figures for unemployment in the city,” he said.

“There is no room for complacency however and the success achieved to date gives us the opportunity to redouble our efforts to help those who have been out of work for longest or those, particularly amongst the over 50s, who might be finding it hardest to return to the workplace.”

Mr Walker said he had made unemployment, particularly among young people, one of his top priorities since he was elected to parliament in 2010.

“I am proud that there are well over 1,500 fewer people unemployed in Worcester than when I became MP and that young people have the brightest prospects in a decade for finding work here but I determined that we keep up the progress and leave nobody left behind,” he said.

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.

Unemployment also fell in Wychavon, where 737 people, or one per cent of the working-age population, were out of work, compared with 1,076 12 months earlier.

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.