The number of people looking for work in west London fell by nearly a fifth in 2015, according to latest figures.

Job Seekers' Allowance (JSA) claimants dropped from 29,070 in November 2014 to 23,923 in November this year - a reduction of 17.7% or 5,147 in real numbers.

The figures are continuation of an encouraging trend across west London, and indeed the rest of the country, with Uxbridge reporting an upturn in job opportunities as well as Harrow East seeing a decrease in job seekers.

James Ramsey is operations manager in west London for the Department for Work and Pensions, and oversees some of the 17 Job Centres Plus offices in the area, which includes Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Ealing, Hounslow, Harrow, Brent and Richmond.

He said the news was even better for young people, with a drop of more than a third in 18-24-year-olds looking for work.

Mr Ramsay said: “In November 2014 there were 4,890 claimants aged 18-24. In November this year that figure was 3,015. That’s a reduction of 38.3%, or 1,875 people.”

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And he hoped to see the trend continue next year. Speaking to Getwestlondon Mr Ramsey said: “The continual reduction of claimant counts is down to economy picking up and more employers looking to recruit people.

“We are working with more employers, from small and medium right up to larger employers, and we actively have programmes in place to support the 18-24s, like work experience and training.

“The labour market in west London is very accessible - we have access to central London, the City and there is regeneration in Battersea Nine Elms and Earl’s Court.

“We are seeing a lot of employment activity and redevelopment work which will hopefully continue to reduce the claimant count.”

He said January can be a challenging month at the job centre, but staff would stay focused and help all those who need it. He said: “We want to make sure whoever walks in leaves with job opportunities and is given support and help. We try to move them closer to the labour market as soon as possible.

“We are prepared for an increase in January with Christmas jobs coming to an end, and we need to make sure our services are there over the Christmas period.

“But we want to see this [JSA drop] continue and will be doing everything we can to support claimants to move them into work in the new year and 2016.”