The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed the latest employment figures for North Shropshire.

The latest figures, up to August 2020, say there has been a 148 per cent increase from the same time last year for people between the ages of 18 to 24 claiming Universal Credit, with a 112 per cent increase overall.

The actual number of people aged between 18 to 24 claiming is 632, compared to 377 last year, and a total of 3,148, up from 1,664 last year.

Ben Vaughan, Shropshire employment adviser for the Job Centre Plus says it remains a challenging period to find work.

"It remains a challenging time for us in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin with more than 17,000 people claiming Universal Credit and looking for work," he said. "We have seen our claimant count more than double during the pandemic.

"The number of people claiming Universal Credit has however remained stable in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin since June, with small numbers of new claimants."