Devon’s JSA claimants increase in December
Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants in Devon during December increased by 58, with the total count now standing at 2,918.
However despite last month’s JSA increase the claimant count is 19% lower than during the same period last year.
Three of Devon’s eight districts experienced small decreases in JSA – West Devon saw a fall of eight, South Hams’ count dropped by four and Torridge by one.
The remaining five districts all experienced increases in claimants - East Devon was the highest with an additional 24 claimants.
The claimant rate (the proportion of the county’s working age population claiming JSA) remained unchanged for all of Devon’s districts - the Devon rate also remaining unchanged from November at 0.6%.
Youth claimants (aged 24 and under) decreased by 15 claimants across Devon during December.
At a district level youth JSA claimant rates in East Devon, Exeter and Mid Devon all fell by five with the remaining districts experiencing no change from November.
As a result of the small decrease in youth claimants, Devon’s youth claimant count rate fell by 0.7% between during December to 11.9%, 0.4% lower than the UK average.
Devon County Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said:
“While Devon experienced a small rise in JSA claimants in December youth claimants have actually decreased, and compared to 2015, the total claimant count for December is still 16% lower than the previous year.
"However, as a council we are not complacent, and continue to back schemes aiming to reduce unemployment, boost wages and increase the diversity of our economy.
"Our recently awarded Phase 2 contracts for Connecting Devon and Somerset will further extend the rollout of superfast fibre broadband, delivering a step change in connectivity to some of Devon’s remotest areas.
"Our REAL Devon grants are helping local people and businesses to develop opportunities which improve the rural economy, and our Work Hub network is continuing to provide valuable shared employment space for start-ups. In addition we continue to push the development of Exeter Science and Sky parks - helping raise the profile of Devon as a place for science, technology and innovation.”
