Tees Valley logs on to lookforworkinrecordnumbers
Feb 27 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette
JANUARY saw a record number of people visiting the Jobcentre Plus website to look for work.
Figures show there were over 2.5 million visits to the government website, with in excess of eight million job searches conducted by people eager to find employment, an increase of nearly a quarter on the previous year.
Last year, more than 25,000 people from across the Tees Valley took advantage of the free services provided by Jobcentre Plus to find a job - nearly one every 20 minutes.
Through the New Deal programme Jobcentre Plus is helping more than 36,000 people in the region to find work, with a package of free support including training, help with job searching, applying and preparing for interview.
Of those from the Tees Valley who started a new job in 2007, around 2,000 were lone parents and 2,500 had a health condition or disability, for whom New Deal provides specific support.
Steve Davidson, district manager for Jobcentre Plus said: “Many people begin the New Year with a resolution to improve their current situation. For some people this may mean making that first step to moving into employment.
“This isn’t always easy, particularly for those who have been out of work for some time and that is why it is important that advice, guidance and support is available to make the transition as simple as possible.
“Jobcentre Plus has experienced advisers who can provide that essential support - this may be successfully matching people to employer opportunities, or completing an ‘In Work Calculation’ which shows how people can be financially better off in work.
“Our advisers will also provide moral support and encouragement throughout the process, which we find is often the boost people need to make their goal come true.”
In January 2007 alone, just under 110,000 people across the UK found a job with help from Jobcentre Plus.
In the same month the Jobcentre Plus website www.jobcentreplus.co.uk received more than nine million visitors with about 120,000 of these on New Year’s Day. It is the number one UK recruitment website, listing more than 400,000 vacancies and receiving more than four million job search requests each week.
