Jobseeker figures fall in Rochdale

Data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Rochdale fell last month by 315 to 6,859.

Christian Spence, Head of Business Intelligence at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: "The picture is a positive one and supports the evidence from the Chamber of Commerce's recent Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) that employment will continue to rise over the coming months as the recovery becomes more firm: our QES Employment Tracker shows further growth is expected next quarter.

"The only caveat to this good news is that whilst the number of claimants has fallen, the number of those claiming for a longer period, particularly above two years, is continuing to grow. As job creation continues, there is a risk that a number of people become permanently locked out of the workforce as they become distanced from the labour market as a whole.

"A successful economy in Greater Manchester needs to seek the participation of as many of its people as possible, and businesses, local authorities and other partners should seek to redouble their efforts to ensure that number of disenfranchised people does not continue to grow."