The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Hammersmith and Fulham has fallen.

Figures show a fall in the claimant count of 455 compared to the same time last year, with a steady decrease during that period.

The number of people now claiming benefit is 3,169 within the borough, which represents a 13% fall.

Kam Babrah is the partnership manager of Job Centre Plus in the borough, which has three centres in Hammersmith, Fulham and Shepherd’s Bush.

Speaking to getwestlondon, she said: “The figures compared to last year like for like have improved and show unemployment has fallen.”

Nationally, long-term unemployment has fallen by 184,000 on this time last year, and Ms Babrah said the trend was reflected in the borough.

And she said with businesses such as Westfield and a growing construction sector, that unemployment should continue to fall in the future.

“From my experience we have quite a lot of development happening in Hammersmith and Fulham," she said. "Key developments include the new Westfield extension coming our way which will generate hundreds of vacancies, and we recently had Kidzania open up which generated in the region of 200 vacancies.

“We have growing sectors within the borough in hospitality, we have the care sector and due to huge amount of development within the borough we also have the construction sector which is continuously growing.

“From what I gather the labour market figures are improving and the forecast is this will continue to improve.”

She said the benefits felt when someone found permanent work were long-reaching, saying: “It’s good news that there are 455 fewer claimants than a year ago.

“It has a positive impact not just on the individual but whole households, families and children, and of course the economy.”

And she said the aim was to see the unemployment figures and people claiming benefits continue to fall: “Job Centre Plus is very focused on ensuring we are supporting people that are unemployed. Making sure they are correctly paid and that we offer the best customer service we can.

“We also work with other providers and partnerships so that people can get the help they need to find work and address issues which maybe stopping them moving to find employment.”