Youth unemployment figures down by more than 50% in district

Add that to climbing house prices and an increased number of new homes built, bought and registered in the south east of England, and it is clear that West Berkshire economy is firmly on the up.
In April, 175 West Berkshire residents, aged 18 to 24, were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, compared to 380 at the same point last year.
It follows on from the welcome news last month that 740 fewer people aged 18 to 64 were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in April than in April 2013.
At a recent business forum, local firms pledged to do all they could to recruit apprentices, trainees and young workers.
Council chiefs have also attributed some of the success to the recent signing of the City Deal, an initiative aiming to increase the number of local employees with accredited training to improve career development opportunities.
West Berkshire Council portfolio holder for economic development Alan Law (Con, Basildon) said: “As well as being excellent news for people looking for – and finding – work in West Berkshire, it helps show the district is leading the national recovery just as it dodged the worst of the last recession and that it remains a place of real economic strength.”
Meanwhile, new house registrations in the south east of England have soared by 32 per cent. Figures released by the National House Building Council (NHBC) have shown that between February and April the south east region had by far the biggest increase in the number of new house registrations from the same period last year, from 3,647 to 4,809.
The closest region behind was the west Midlands with an increase of 18 per cent, from 2,671 to 3,147, followed by the north east at an increase of eight per cent, from 1,329 to 1,433.
In addition, the latest house price index compiled by Nationwide showed that the average house price in West Berkshire between January and April was £287,393, an increase of eight per cent on the previous quarter and of 32 per cent in the past 10 years.
This is compared to the average house price in the south east of England of £217,534, and in England as a whole of £210,066.
Families in the region are also said to have an increased amount of savings on this time last year, with a survey by Legal & General finding that families in the south east are living 44 days from the breadline – a week longer than in June 2013, and 18 days longer than the national average.
The “deadline to the breadline” report surveys how long a family could live off their savings before requiring outside financial support, be it from central Government, relatives or through the use of a foodbank.
The chairman of trustees for the West Berkshire Foodbank, Andrew Bruce, said that while it was not possible to compare its current usage with June last year – the foodbank having only been established last April – he could report a decrease in the number of people using the service since the Christmas period.