THE number of people out of work in Herefordshire is at its lowest level for almost a quarter of a century.

Less than a thousand county residents are currently claiming Jobseekers Allowance according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The official figure of 913 is the lowest since the government benefit was introduced in 1992.

It has dropped almost ten per cent in a month and by more than half on the number 18 months ago.

Jayne Hotchkiss, manager at Hereford JobCentre Plus in St Nicholas Street, Hereford said the figures are groundbreaking and pointing to the city’s new multi-million pound retail development as a factor in the success.

“I’ve worked here 30 years and these are the best figures I’ve seen,” she said. “They’re amazing really.

“The new shopping centre [Old Market] has made a huge difference to Hereford.”

She said the picture with young adults finding work was also healthy with the number of 18-24-year-olds claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance here under 200.

The latest employment figures mean just 0.8 per cent of Herefordshire’s working age population is currently jobless, well below the West Midlands average of 2.3 per cent and the national average of 1.8 per cent.

Back in February 2010, at the height of the global recession, claimant figures for Herefordshire reached 3,104.

In February 1993, it was as high as 6,576.

But one company boss has warned that skilled labour can still be hard to find.

“The building industry is definitely getting better, but it’s still difficult to get the right people,” said Colin Taylor, managing director of Rotherwas-based timber frame manufacturer, Taylor Lane who is training up some of his own staff to specialist levels.

“So we are starting at the bottom end and training them up. It takes five years to train a good technician to where we want but we have to bite the bullet.

“We have still got enough talent here to do what we need to do, but there is a shortage of technicians generally.

“The industry is growing faster than training.”

Of the latest Herefordshire figure, 606 claimants are men, and 307 women.

Nationally, the number of people out of work between February and April fell by 43,000 to 1.81 million.