THE latest monthly unemployment figures were released last week.

In March, here in the New Forest West parliamentary division, there were 830 people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance; this represents 2.3 per cent of the workforce.

Breaking the number down by age reveals that of the 830 claimants, 245 were 18- to 24-year-olds and 185 were over 50-years-old. 135 of the total 830 had been unemployed for more than 12 months.

On a year-on-year basis, I calculate that the overall figure is down by 79, 18 to 24s down by 40, and the over 50s unchanged. In total this represents a drop of nearly nine per cent over the year to March.

Although the over 50 figure is relatively small, particularly when you consider that the signature demographic profile of the New Forest is a comparatively elderly population, the fact that the figure has not come down over the year – unlike the figure for 18 to 24 year olds – is disappointing.

I am not sure which is worse: feeling that you are on the scrap heap right at the start of your working life or feeling that you have no chance of getting another job more than half way through it. Either way, there can be little more depressing than applying for job after job, sending off your CV, but being constantly disappointed.

We should temper that gloomy thought, however, with the fact that since 2010 the number of people in work has increased by 750,000. There are more people at work today in our country than ever before in our history, and this includes more women at work than ever before. The need to reduce our deficit has inevitably meant that the public sector has had to shed jobs, but for every public sector job that has been cut, the private sector has created six new jobs. The increase in employment is overwhelmingly of full-time jobs – these are up by 600,000, and part-time jobs up by 260,000.

Furthermore, the trend that saw three-quarters of new jobs going to foreign workers in the last parliament, has been completely reversed, with nine-tenths of new jobs going to UK nationals since the election.

Also since the election there are 290,000 fewer people claiming the main out of work benefits, including fewer 18- to 24-year-olds. In fact this month saw the 11th consecutive monthly fall in young people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance. We now have the lowest Job Seekers’ Allowance claimant count for four years.

In previous recessions people have disengaged from work: they gave up looking because the prospects were so poor. This does not appear to have happened this time and we must tailor our policy to ensure that it does not. It is for this reason we have introduced the largest payment-by-results scheme ever, The Work Programme, which is now providing support to get 800,000 people into work. In addition, we also have the £1bn Youth Contract which encourages employers to give young people a chance through work experience.

These opportunities can give young people the skills they need in order to get a job. Apprenticeships are at the heart of the drive to equip people with the skills that employers need.

There are some magnificent examples of investment in apprentices here in the New Forest. People often complain to me that Britain doesn’t make anything anymore. It’s simply not true: we are the ninth largest manufacturing economy in the world. Apprenticeships are a vital component in the task of increasing our manufacturing exports. 520,000 apprenticeships started in 2011/12 and the provisional statistics for 2012/13 indicate that the starts will be significantly greater.

Unemployment is a terrible blight. The numbers, however, are subject to the same principle that applies to all political and economic news: they are rarely as bad as first reported.