Burnley jobs market '˜buoyant;

The number of people claiming out of work benefits in May also dropped by 745 people, a decrease 32% from six years ago

Mr Ken O’Shea, Pennine employer and partnership manager, said: “The local jobs market is buoyant at the moment with vacancies across a range of sectors including hospitality, retail, customer service, construction, warehouse and distribution.

“Work Coaches in Jobcentres are working hard to match unemployed jobseekers with the advertised vacancies.

“Local Jobcentres are supporting the Boo Hoo expansion which requires 20 new recruits each week.

“Interview sessions are taking place each Wednesday at Burnley Jobcentre. We are also working with British Telecom to supply 100 people for the Contact Centre at Accrington.

“July is SME month with a focus on securing employment for unemployed jobseekers in businesses employing up to 249 people.”

Small businesses accounted for 99.3% of all private sector businesses at the start of 2015 and 99.9% were small or medium-sized (SMEs).

Total employment in SMEs was 15.6 million; 60% of all private sector employment in the UK.

The combined annual turnover of SMEs was £1.8 trillion, 47% of all private sector turnover in the UK.