Unemployment falling in Dartford

Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford, has expressed his delight for the latest unemployment figures for Dartford which show a drop of over 15% in Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) claimants in Dartford over the last 12 months, a reduction of over 330 claimants.

The figures, when compared directly with all other Kent constituencies, concluded that Dartford had the steepest fall in claimant rates in Kent County, with an 18% drop in JSA claimants aged 18-24 over the last 12 months highlighting the success of local efforts to get young people working. These sharp decreases have seen Dartford’s unemployment ranking change from 9^th out of the 17 Kent constituencies in May 2010, to 7^th as of September 2012, a noticeable improvement for the area.

Gareth commented that;

“These figures are very welcome and demonstrate that confidence in Dartford is increasing. With the proposed expansion of Bluewater, new houses being built in the Eastern Quarry and the recent proposal to build a Theme Park in Swanscombe, there is clear evidence of opportunities in Dartford for people seeking employment.  Local initiatives such as the Portas Town grant, more business apprenticeship places and low corporation tax rates have helped to bring about increasing investment in the area. I can only hope that these encouraging figures continue to help Dartford out of what has been a long and painful recession.”

The highest increases in JSA claimants were in North and South Thanet, with South Thanet registering a 15.9% increase in JSA claimants (up 437 claimants since May 2010), and North Thanet seeing a 37% increase in JSA claimants aged 18-24 since 2010 (making up two thirds of their total new JSA claimants for the period).