THERE are hundreds of job vacancies available across the county – that’s the message from Job Centre chiefs as the latest national unemployment figures are published.
Gwyn Sherriff – Mercia Partnership Manager for the Department for Work and Pensions said although the number of Universal Credit claimants in Worcestershire had risen slightly in the month to December 9, 2021, that failed to take into account the surge in vacancies in the run up to Christmas and beyond.
“The figures for this month are a bit disjointed and don’t give the full picture, but there are still a large number of vacancies out there,” she said.
“For instance there are lots of things going on around the Commonwealth Games. We have formed a ‘talent pool’ matching customers to specific opportunities and then putting on events to introduce them to that kind of work.”
She added there was a high demand for security personnel for the Games and through DWP sector based work academies claimants could gain qualifications which would enable them to apply for vacancies for the Birmingham 2022 event this summer.
“Security and the care industry are some of the main vacancies but we also now have home working vacancies for call centres which is something which we’ve never had before,” she said.
“The new temporary jobcentre in Redditch is up and running, and the extra work coaches are offering jobseekers with individual support.
“I’d encourage jobseekers to visit Find a Job and locate local vacancies.”
Across the West Midlands region the number of people employed is 2.81million – up 28,000 on the quarter and up 48,000 on the year.
The employment rate (aged 16-64) is at 74.8 per cent up 1.5 per cent on the year.
The number of people unemployed is at 138,000 – down 4,000 on the quarter and down 43,000 on the year.
