PLUNGING numbers of dole claimants across Hampshire are being hailed as evidence that the county economy is recovering from the recession.

The number of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants has fallen by about a fifth in the past six months and by a quarter over the past year, according to the latest official figures.

But there are still more than twice as many people claiming unemployment benefit as there were before the run on Northern Rock in 2007, which signalled the start of the financial crisis in the UK.

Unions warned that the improvement was just the “false calm before the storm” which would be created by the Government’s cuts programme.

At its peak in August last year, the recession put more than 32,000 people on the dole in Hampshire, including 6,800 in Southampton.

The roll call of jobs misery has since tumbled to just over 25,000 across the county and about 5,000 in Southampton, with the vast majority of that, about 19 per cent, coming in the past six months.

However, in October 2007 as the financial crisis that triggered the recession was beginning, there were just 12,786 claimants in the whole county, including 2,995 in Southampton.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, Southamp-ton has also seen a 62 per cent fall in the number of young people out of work, while other areas have seen the numbers climb.

Cllr Royston Smith, leader of Southampton City Council, said: “We are obviously doing something right.

“We are insisting that people who want to build in Southampton use local people. Ikea did it, Hammerson are excellent at it and Barratt are doing it now on Hinkler Parade.

“It’s about training, it’s about apprenticeships, the skills development zone. We use the Future Jobs Fund and we use all these opportunities to get people into work. If you add all these things together the results are remarkable and we couldn’t be happier.

“There is no room for complacency though. We are already thinking about how to get people made redundant from the public sector into private sector jobs.

“In Southampton we have tried in vain to get more jobs from the public sector, which means we are under-represented. That’s now something of a silver lining.

Impact “We have just 32 per cent of the workforce in the public sector, whereas some areas in the north have as high as 60 or 70 per cent.”

Cllr Roy Perry, Hampshire County Council Cabinet member for community development, said: “When the recession hit, people thought it would impact on the south more than previous recessions but that has not proved to be the case.

“This emphasises that this is a great place to work and do business.

“When you speak to other regions you recognise how far forward we are and it is down to having a good infrastructure.

“We have the skills and an environment where people want to operate and expand their businesses. There are good roads and facilities of that nature and these are crucial advantages.”

Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary, warned that the Government’s plans to tackle the deficit risked derailing the recovery.

“Next week the Chancellor will lay the groundwork for adding 750,000 public sector workers to the dole queues,” he said.

“The knock-on effects to the private sector will be huge.

“PwC predicts nearly a million jobs could be lost, and economic output will plummet by £46 billion.

“The Chancellor must return to the drawing board. His plans will wreak havoc with the recovery and drag the country back into recession.”

A spokesman for the Job Centre said that it was not allowed to comment on JSA figures.