Despite the number of recent high street store closures and redundancies, employment rates in Dacorum are considerably better than the national average.
While the Gazette reported last week that just three job spots in a new Marlowes coffee shop received more than 2,000 applicants, the latest government figures reflect a surprising drop in those claiming jobseeker’s allowance in Hemel Hempstead.
Over the past year, the total number of people receiving the unemployment benefit in the town reduced by 250.Across the east, there are also 39,000 more people in work than at this time in 2012.
In fact, while the average employment figure for Great Britain stands at 70.5 per cent, Dacorum’s rate exceeds it at 74.3 per cent. This, according to the Department for Work and Pensions, shows that more people in the borough are moving off benefits and into work.
A DWP spokesman said: “Despite tough economic times, there are 500,000 vacancies across the country, and the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in Hemel Hempstead has fallen.
“But we don’t underestimate the challenge still facing us, which is why we give jobseekers personalised support to help them find work.”
Figures taken from October 2011 to September 2012 show other positive trends in the borough.
The number of self-employed workers in Dacorum is significantly higher than the national total, with 13.2 per cent of people in the area working for themselves, compared to just 9.6 per cent across the whole of Britain.
There are also 2.9 per cent more economically active people, aged 16 or over and either in or seeking employment, in Dacorum than there are nationally.