Half of Midlothian job seekers found work in the past year

The number of people seeking work in Midlothian has halved in the past year, as the job market picks up speed following the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.

The latest claimant count for Midlothian, for May 2022, shows that there are 1,242 people in the country seeking work, down by 1,346 (52 per cent) in a year.

The number of local job seekers aged 18-24 has dropped even more over the same period, down by 61 per cent from 563 to 220.

The new Alternative Claimant Count figures (those in the searching for work conditionality group) show that Midlothian is performing well against Scotland (down by 42 per cent) and the UK (down 37 per cent).

These latest figures come as the local Jobcentre Plus team continues to try to find work for local people.

Colin Proc, employer and partnership manager for Mid and East Lothian said: “Although we’re in the middle of a hot summer, skilled job centre work coaches are working harder than ever to help employers fill record levels of vacancies.

"It remains our top priority to match the right job with the right person.

“The job centre continues to host local businesses looking to recruit with prospective employees.

Stock photo of Dalkeith Job Centre.

"We have recently worked in Partnership with ‘The Scotsman Group’ who delivered an information session to customers in Penicuik who were interested in working in the Hospitality Sector.

“Five of the customers that attended were invited into the Scotsman Hotel for a taster session which involved finding out about the various job roles that were on offer – following this event five of the customers were offered interviews and have since commenced employment with the company.

“From job opportunities in job centres to sector based work programme’s there is a huge amount of help available, and our work coaches are working tirelessly to get people at any age, or career stage, into rewarding and stable employment.”

Meanwhile, the latest figures for people claiming Universal Credit in Midlothian rose slightly in the monthly statistics, up by 96 from 7,711 in May this year to 7,807 last month.

This is an increase of 1.2 per cent, compared to the UK rise from May to June this year of 0.1 per cent.