Business leaders have hailed employment boosting measures as the number of jobless across the county dropped for the second consecutive month.

The number of people out of work in Brighton and Hove fell by 170 people to 6,526 last month and by 258 people over the quarter.

In Sussex unemployment fell by more than 1,000 people in the last three months and by more than 1,500 people in the last month.

Donna Keenan, managing director of City College’s City Business Skills Department in Brighton, said the news comes in the wake of the college’s work to encourage job creation.

She said: “The City Skills and Jobs Shop was recently launched and this is testament to dedicated partners coming together for a common goal which is to support skills development and to help people into work.”

Julia Chanteray, president of the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is good news that unemployment is continuing to fall and in Brighton and Hove is remaining well under half the national average.

“For our part, as a Chamber, we’re focusing on giving practical help to businesses through the double-dip and are working closely with the council to launch our Ride the Wave programme early next month, with a series of down-to-earth business support events right through to December.

“We’re also working on apprenticeship initiatives to help tackle unemployment among our young people.”

Mark Froud, chief executive at Sussex Enterprise, the county’s chamber of commerce, said: “With the eurozone crisis worsening and economic pressures facing the UK, these figures are encouraging.

“The private sector is willing to drive recovery at a time when the public sector is likely to shrink further.

“However, the combined effect of the situation in the eurozone and the government’s austerity measures will likely cause future job losses over the next year.

“Businesses are working hard to grow but the government needs to do more the help them create jobs.”

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