I am sure that many of you are still disappointed that England was unable to progress beyond the quarter finals of Euro 2012 – however, with Wimbledon starting and the Olympics almost upon us, let’s hope we still have something more to cheer about over the coming months.
I was very heartened to read the story in the Evening Standard this week about the fall in the number of jobseekers in the Brentford and Isleworth constituency. The number claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) reduced by 4.6% in the year to April 2012, one of the top three constituencies across London with the biggest falls in claimants.
Top five falls (based on number of Job Seeker’s Allowance claimants)
Chelsea and Fulham -10.1 %
Hornsey and Wood Green -9.9%
Brentford and Isleworth -4.6%
Kensington -4.5%
Spelthorne -4.5%
This trend has continued in May this year and I am particularly pleased to see that there are now less than 500 people aged 24 and under currently claiming JSA – that’s a fall of 9.9% on the same time last year.
Other good news on the jobs front came this month when the Prime Minister announced plans for a new energy partnership with Norway. As a result of the deal, Norwegian oil services group Aker Solutions plans to develop its offices in Chiswick Park into an engineering hub, creating more than 1,300 jobs locally. This follows the news that International SOS are moving their headquarters to the area.
Of course, we mustn’t be complacent as the economic outlook is still very challenging and the job market is very tough, particularly for those that have been looking for work for more than 12 months.
This month I held the first in a series of seminars which aims to boost the number of women starting their own businesses. Called ‘Entrepreneurial Women: Taking the Start-Up Challenge’ and hosted by Barclays, this session attracted more than 50 women, all keen to hear more about how to set up in business. The attendees heard from Start-Up Britain, The Prince’s Trust, Hounslow Chambers of Commerce and Barclays as well as successful local entrepreneur Fiona Hamilton who provided practical and helpful advice on the challenges and rewards of embarking on a business venture.
It’s right that we recognise the good progress that has been achieved on the jobs front over the last year and continue to promote our area as the thriving business centre that it is.
At the same time, we must do all we can to encourage growth at every level, from the large multi-nationals that we are blessed with to those who are taking the first steps to set up their own business.
