THE number of young people unemployed in Wrexham has risen by almost 30% in the last year, official figures reveal.

Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the number of 18-24 year-olds out of work and claiming Universal Credit of Jobseeker's Allowance in the region are up 29% from those published a year ago. However, the DWP say the actual number of young people this relates to is small (277) and the figure is 41% lower than what it was five years ago (472).

Steve Evans, Business Support and UCB Manager for DWP in Wrexham said: "It is difficult to say what has caused this increase, however to keep it in perspective the number of unemployed young people is thankfully relatively small.

"Under Universal Credit more people are required to look for work, and are therefore now counted in the labour market statistics, so this is the most likely cause."

With the overall number of people unemployed in Wrexham standing at 1,468 (an increase of 9% from last year) Mr Evans went on to explain how the introduction of Universal Credit in Wrexham in 2017 has had an impact on the figures.

He said: "The previous claimant count only captured people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) i.e. people who were required to look for work. So, for example, it did not count people who were working but claiming Housing Benefit (HB), Working Tax Credits (WTC) or Child Tax Credits (CTC) because they were under the relevant income threshold.

"So in these examples, some people, because of a change of circumstances that has affected their claim, will have moved on to Universal Credit and will now be counted in the count."

With overall figures of unemployment down 34% from what they were five years ago, DWP say that means 762 more people have managed to find work in that time, which for stats gathering purposes means that a person is either in paid employment or self-employed, being paid the minimum wage, but is irrespective of the hours worked.

The DWP provides a programme of intensive support for all 18 to 21 year olds making a new claim to Universal Credit. This is known as the Youth Obligation Support Programme.

It aims to encourage and support all young people into employment, work-related training or an apprenticeship.