The Department of Work and Pensions have released their latest employment figures for north Shropshire.

The latest figures show the number of claimants aged between 18 and 24 has dropped by 53 per cent over the last five years, which is a reduction in real terms of 300 people.

Meanwhile there has been an overall decrease of 40 per cent for claimants of all ages in north Shropshire over the last five years.

Despite the overall reduction in unemployment over the last five years, there has been a slight increase since 2018.

Actual figures of the current alternative claimant count show that 254 people aged 18 to 24 are currently claiming, with 1,455 people overall in north Shropshire.

This figure is an eight per cent increase on claimants aged between 18 and 24 compared to last year, and an eight per cent increase on overall numbers of claimants.

Claimants include anyone on Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit searching for work.

A spokesman for the DWP said: “This reflects the resources JCP has put into working with claimants aged 18 to 24 and the work we continue to do alongside our local council and with our local employers across a very rural constituency to ensure more young people are given job opportunities.”

“The total number of claimants has also dropped by 40 per cent over the last five years, which is very positive news for the people of north Shropshire.”