The jobless total in Gloucestershire plunged dramatically last month in stark contract to the UK unemployment total, which soared to a 12-year high of 2.26 million.

The number unemployed in the county fell by 214 to 12,480-and it may all be down to the Gloucester Quays factor. 

It is estimate Gloucester’s new designer outlet shopping centre, together with the new Sainsburys store nearby, will create up to 1,500 jobs.

Until now Gloucester has been the county’s unemployment blackspot but in May the city’s jobless figure bucked the grim national trend by falling 168 to 3,273.

It still has by far more unemployed people than other districts in the county but the jobless rate for the city has fallen from 4.8% to 4.6%.

David Owen, chief executive of the public-private economic partnership, Gloucestershire First said: ““The fact that the unemployment figures have dropped is very good news indeed.

“Though the decrease for May is small – 214 compared to April – it shows just how hard local companies are working to keep employee numbers stable under very trying economic conditions.

“The percentage of people out of work in Gloucestershire and claiming benefit is 3.5 per cent. That’s higher than the South West average of 3.1 per cent but lower than the UK average, which is 4.1 per cent.

“Unemployment is down slightly in Cheltenham, Gloucester, the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury but it is up in Stroud where the figures have risen from 1952 to 2044.

“In the county as a whole, 137 men and 77 women have found work in the past month. This must be regarded as a positive sign and, though we cannot be certain what’s around the corner, the Gloucestershire economy is proving its resilience despite major recent job losses.”

The unemployment figures for Gloucestershire district by district are: Cheltenham 2,844 (down from  2,860 the previous month), Cotswold 1,067 (1,094), Forest of Dean 1,784 (1,861), Gloucester 3,273 (3,441), Stroud 2,044 (1,952) and Tewkesbury 1,468 (1,486).

Despite this month’s good news some experts fear unemployment in Gloucestershire could peak at between 20,000 and 22,000 in the months to come.

Read more on the unemployment situation in Gloucestershire tomorrow in The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo.