THE number of people on the dole in Oxfordshire continued to fall in November, new figures out today show.

There were 2,927 men and women claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance in the county, down from 2,955 a month earlier.

Oxford bucked the trend, showing a slight rise in dole numbers, up by 21, from 984 to 1,005, as did Cherwell, up by 12, from 550 to 562.

South Oxfordshire showed the biggest improvement of the districts, with dole numbers cut by 25, down to 453 from 478.

This was followed by the Vale of White Horse, down 20, from 481 to 461 and West Oxon down 16, from 462 to 446.

Anne-Marie Dean of Jobcentre Plus said the slight increase in jobless totals for Oxford and Cherwell should be seen as part of a bigger picture, in which dole queues across the county have fallen by almost half in the past 12 months and are at a six-year low.

She said: “The figures are still going in the right direction and although there is not a huge change month-on-month, it is still happening.

”We are concentrating on giving support to older workers and long-term unemployed on a one-to-one basis.”

JobCentrePlus staff in Oxford, Abingdon, Bicester, Banbury and Witney are working with a number of employers, including Pizza Express, to offer unpaid work experience, help with CVs and guranteed interviews to people on the dole.

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