Retail parks boost Arun job levels as employment rises

Players from the Rustington Otters youth football club, store manager Steve Newlyn-Bowmer and olympian Liam Heath open the Aldi in Manor Retail Park, Rustington SUS-171105-124249001

New superstore openings in Rustington have contributed to strong employment figures in Arun, according to one job centre manager.

The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in Arun was slashed by more than 40 per cent since 2013, despite levels rising in the past two years.

In July 2013, there were 1,825 claimants – but in July this year, 1,025 people made claims, 43 per cent fewer than four years ago.

However, this is a nine per cent increase from July 2015, when there were 930 claimants.

The Next superstore in Rustington has also helped employment

Karen Brooks works at the Jobcentre in High Street, Bognor Regis. She said the rise could be explained by the introduction of universal credit, which may have ‘skewed the figures’.

While Arun’s overall unemployment rates were higher than Worthing, Karen’s outlook for the area’s job prospects was positive, particularly with the new openings of