Staffordshire residents are being urged to find out about rising employment vacancies in various sectors as latest out-of-work claimant statistics for the county show another reduction.

At the same time, many vacancies remain unfilled as demand grows across many parts of the local economy – from flagship Staffordshire companies like JCB to numerous roles in the hospitality sector.

Staffordshire County Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills leader Philip White has today put out a call to anyone seeking employment – whether currently out of work or looking for a new career path – to find out more from the local enterprise partnership and other partners.

Figures released today show that 4.1 per cent of the county population claimed out-of-work benefits in June, a fall from the previous two months, when the figures were 4.3 and 4.6 per cent respectively. The regional figure is now 6.6 per cent and national 5.7 per cent.

The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership runs a redundancy and recruitment triage service, made up of a range of organisations including the county council. It aims to identify and promote new vacancies and work with businesses where there is a risk to people's employment.

Meanwhile the county council continues to promote its broad range of support schemes through the Staffordshire Means Back to Business programme. This includes start-up schemes and apprenticeship support.

Philip White said: "There is a shortage in the labour market nationally and here in Staffordshire so we would urge people to find out where the growing number of vacancies are.

"These range from engineering to hospitality and as more of the economy opens up next week we'd expect to see more. Whether it's to get back into employment or change career and upskill, there really is a broad range of opportunities to explore. Filling them is a positive step for our communities and the local economy. Of course it is encouraging to see the claimant count figure fall for the third consecutive month so we want to focus on seeing people take advantage of employment opportunities.

"The local enterprise partnership provides an excellent service in supporting people getting back to work and to those businesses needing to recruit.

"And our back to business programmes are available for small enterprises and those looking to start their own company."