COMPANIES’ increasing awareness of partnering with employment officials to fill vacancies is helping cultivate a renewed confidence in the sector, it has been claimed.

Jobcentre Plus says a strengthening relationship “to take people through a career path” is having an impact.

The upbeat message came as latest figures show the North-East had a near record 1.21 million people in work in the quarter to February, after a rise of 10,000 in the period.

The region’s unemployment rate stood at 83,000, which although remaining the country’s highest at 6.4 per cent, was down 21,000 over the year.

Diane Luke, senior support and partnership manager at Jobcentre Plus, told The Northern Echo that a real sense of belief was returning to the jobs sector.

Ms Luke pointed to examples such as trainbuilder Hitachi Rail Europe, which the Echo last week revealed has now created more than 900 posts at its plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, as an example of companies making an impact on the employment landscape.

She also said businesses were increasingly seeing Jobcentre Plus as a viable option.

She added: “These figures are good news for the North-East and to have the number of people in work at a near record high is fantastic.

“Businesses are realising we can get some good, experienced people to them and realising the benefits of working together to take people through a career path.”

Nationally, unemployment fell to its lowest in a decade thanks to a record number of vacancies.

The number of people in work increased to 31.8 million, giving an employment rate of 74.6 per cent, the joint highest since records began in 1971.

Vacancies were up to a record 767,000, with strong growth in the accommodation and food services sectors.