Swings and roundabouts in Jobseeker claimants

THE number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance continued its downward trend in Kent last month, but East Sussex reported an increase of 41.

Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge and Malling all registered decreases, which combined meant there were 97 fewer claimants in May than there had been in April.

The picture given over recent months suggests Kent, at least, may have turned the corner.

Although there were still significantly more people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in May than at the same point last year – 29,626 versus 27,190 – the three months since February have shown a steady decline from a peak of 31,525.

The same cannot be said for East Sussex. Wealden may have had a slight decrease but numbers were up across the rest of the county – disappointing, given that this trend had also been falling since February.

There are now 9,912 claimants, 670 more than at the same point in time last year.