THE economic recovery in Derbyshire is making "great progress", says business leader George Cowcher.
Mr Cowcher, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce for Derbyshire, was commenting after figures showed that the number of people looking for work fell in Derby and the rest of Derbyshire last month.
After suffering from a Christmas hangover, with job-seeker numbers rising in both January and February, figures for March, released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday, showed that the number of people claiming work-related benefit in the city and county was falling once again.
Last month, the number of people claiming job-seekers' allowance in Derby went down from 5,598 to 5,420 – a fall of 178 or 3.2%. In the rest of the county, the dole queue shrunk in March, falling by 388 to 10,594, a drop of 3.5%.
Throughout 2013, jobseeker numbers in both Derby and Derbyshire fell month-on-month. The positive trend halted in the first two months of 2014 when the figures started rising again.
But business leaders were unperturbed, blaming the rises on temporary seasonal contracts coming to an end.
Now, it would seem the city and county have picked up from where it left off last year. The number of claimants is lower than 12 months ago.
In March last year, the number of people looking for work in Derby was 7,726 – 2,306 more than this March.
In Derbyshire, 12 months ago the figure stood at 15,143, 4,549 more than this March.
Mr Cowcher said: "Following slight increases in January and February, the fact that the number of claimants has fallen significantly in March is great news and provides further evidence the economy is strengthening.
"They reflect the chamber's recent Quarterly Economic Survey which found 30% of local businesses increased the size of their workforce in the first three months of this year, with a third planning to recruit staff."
The trend in Derby and Derbyshire reflects the national scene, where claimants fell by 30,400 to 1.14 million in March.
The UK figures showed that total number of people out of work fell by 77,000 to a five-year low of 2.24 million in three months to February.
In the East Midlands, the total number of people in employment fell by 13,000 compared to the previous three months and the unemployed figure increased by 14,000.
Mr Cowcher said: "The short-term increase in unemployment and decrease in employment is of a slight concern but is an historic seasonal trend.
"The year-on-year figures show we have made good progress and we shouldn't set too much store by short-term variations. Overall the jobs market is still improving and suggests that the recovery is making great progress."
