UNEMPLOYMENT in the south west has fallen to 175,000 amid a drop nationally between January and March. Across the country, numbers fell by 45,000 to 2.63 million people or 8.2 per cent. Youth unemployment also fell by 17,000 to 1.02m or an unemployment rate of 21.9 per cent.

But Kieran Pontin, 19, of Upper Stratton, has so far had no success in searching for a role for when his carpentry course at Swindon College finishes in eight weeks’ time.

He said: “From what I have seen I think it’s even tougher out there. Before when I went to the Job Centre there were things to apply for whereas now there’s almost nothing. I want to get something soon because the older you get the harder it becomes as people think you’re lazy.

“The last job I went for was to be a shopfitter and even though the interview went really well I didn’t hear anything back. I was gutted.

“There are carpentry apprenticeships through the college though and I’m going to keep persisting until I get something.”

However, Liz Field, CEO of the Financial Skills Partnership, was upbeat on the new figures. She said: “This is encouraging news, as it seems to confirm a continued upward trend in employment.

“Previous indicators had been that hiring intentions were stronger than they had been for some time in the finance and insurance sectors, and increasing numbers of businesses were complaining about skills gaps, so this should mean more opportunities for jobseekers.

“However it is still early days, and we shall have to await the longer term trends.

“In the meantime there are still many talented and enthusiastic young people in the south west seeking employment in today’s competitive jobs market, and many may need help in researching careers and honing their job seeking strategy, in particular, equipping themselves with the right kinds of skills and connecting with employers. The Financial Skills Partnership’s online careers portal Directions is a good place to start researching careers profiles and connecting with employers.

“Additionally, the new Graduate Foundation College offers a fast-track to employability in the finance sector to unemployed graduates, through its short tailored pre-employment training programme.”