NEW figures out show Swindon has seen yet another drop in the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance.

Over the last three months, the figure has dropped by more than 100, from 2083 to 1964, dropping under 2,000 for the first time in a number of years.

It has continued a steady downward trend which began shortly after the recession several years ago, when the figure was upward of 8,000.

Jill Annal, the manager of Jobcentre Plus in Swindon, says the outlook is positive and she expects the downward trend to continue.

She said: “It has been a while since things have looked this positive and I think we will continue to see the numbers drop over the next few months.

“We have seen a lot of jobs created in Swindon in recent years and that looks like it will carry on.

“For example, we have TNT which is soon to open a new depot in Swindon so we have had them in all week carrying out interviews for warehouse staff.

“A lot of smaller companies are coming to us. In this period, we have had a real push on getting young people into work.

“Last month, there was the Jobfest event at Steam which was a real success. We sent 350 people along who were able to meet with employers to find out what they were looking for.”

In the last few years, there have been a number of changes to the job market “What we are seeing is a lot of parents who are looking to get back into work,” said Ms Annal.

“Maybe their children are now going to school or they simply want to work. We are also helping a lot of people start their own business. Often it is something which has started as a hobby but has grown so we are helping them.”

As well as helping people back into work, the reduction in the number of claimants also means staff at Jobcentre plus now have more time to focus on those who are still out of work, especially the long-term unemployed.

“We would always dedicate time to speak with everyone to help with them but when you have so many it is not always possible to give everyone all the time they perhaps need,” she said.

“This has now changed and we are able to make sure everyone is getting the focused help they need to work towards getting back into employment.”

There was positive news on the job front Across the South West region yesterday, with 50,000 emore people in work in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the last quarter of 2014.

The region's unemploymenThis means Unemployment for the region currently stands 4.3 per cent, is down on the national average and 0.2 per cent lower than the previous quarter.