THE NUMBER of benefit claimants in Warrington has dropped 14 per cent according to new statistics.

Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions show that year on year the number of claimants has dropped 14 per cent to 2,335.

Around 500 of those claimants are aged 18-24, which represents a drop of 32 per cent in that group.

Joanna Gillies, manager at Job Centre Plus on Mersey Street, attributed developments across Warrington as one of the reasons for the fall.

She said: “There is some really good stuff going on in Warrington with quite a lot of retail parks and the major development on the Omega site which is a fantastic opportunity.

“The town centre development is progressing and it is the largest active project in the region.

“We are currently liaising with businesses to make sure that our clients are ready to go into these jobs by getting them skilled so that they can get first dibs on these opportunities.

“We’re also managing around 50 traineeships working with large employers.”