DWP employment statistics highlight great work being done by Work Coaches across Northamptonshire

A particular success is the 50 Plus age group, where 110 people who are aged 50plus in Northamptonshire have returned to work, 80 of those being from West Northamptonshire.

Julie Pritchard of the Employers and Partnership team for the DWP in Northants said:

“As the year kicks off the focus is on helping employers grow their business by opening up jobcentres for on-site recruitment. Also ramping up online and in person job fairs means every jobseeker has an opportunity to make progress.

DWP Supporting family Employer advisers, work with the local authority to ensure that vulnerable families are helped, and their lives improved.

A recent example of this is when a colleague worked with the Local Authority to ensure that a family were rehoused from a property that was not fit to live in, to a home that suited the needs of their young family".

Some upcoming recruitment events in Northamptonshire:

Daventry Jobcentre will be hosting an apprenticeship event on February 14th to celebrate national apprenticeship week, they will have local businesses advertising their current vacancies.

Kettering Jobcentre are helping to recruit for New Companies in the area, these include Lidl, and also a company called Toolstation, Toolstation are opening a new store in March 2024.

Rushden

Our next event at Rushden Jobcentre is an information provider event. Partners/Providers have agreed to come along to take part in a ‘speed dating’ session. This has been arranged to upskill new and existing staff of the offers available locally, from Work and Health Programme, MIND, local colleges, Apprenticeships and National Careers Service. Staff can ask questions and discuss what their customers need to move forward into work.

Rushden has a mini job fair planned for 31.1.24. Employers are being invited to promote current vacancies

Wellingborough

Wellingborough job centre will holding a Jobs fair at Wellingborough Library for permanent vacancies on 24.01.24. Positions will be in logistics; GXO, Whitworths, Wincanton, CN security and NCShave confirmed that they will be attending.

“There remains plenty of vacancies across Northamptonshire, and jobcentre work coaches stand ready to support people, of whatever health condition or age, take the first steps back to work.

“For those on Universal Credit more financial support is available, as people can keep more of what they earn, while parents can receive increased childcare payments.”

Secretary of State, Mel Stride MP said:

“Today’s figures are yet more evidence the economy is turning a corner with the numbers of jobs hitting a record high and inactivity falling by nearly 270,000 last year.

“Our £2.5 billion Back to Work plan will open up the benefits of employment for thousands more people, while we continue to make work pay by cutting taxes and boosting the national living wage.”

Background:

Labour Market Statistics

· There are 4 million more people in work than in 2010.

· The unemployment rate is below many of our international peers, including Canada, France and Spain.

· Long-term unemployment continues to fall, down over 10.3% on the year.

· Economic inactivity has fallen by almost 335,000 since the pandemic peak and our inactivity rate is lower than the average for the G7 and the EU.

Back to Work Plan

· The £2.5bn Back to Work plan will offer unprecedented employment and health support to over a million people, while protecting those most in need from cost of living pressures.

· Benefits will be increased by 6.7% and pensions by 8.5%, maintaining the Government’s commitment to the country

· Around 1.6 million households will also benefit from an increase to the Local Housing Allowance – and will be around £800 a year better off.