THE number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) in the borough has dropped.

Unemployment figures, collected by Wigan Council, show an annual reduction of 1.2 per cent.

According to the latest figures issued by the Office for National Statistics, the number of NEETs nationally has fallen to its lowest level since 2005.

The news coincides with the first anniversary of the government’s traineeships programme, a programme which supports young people aged 16 to 23 years old to develop the skills they need to secure and succeed in employment, including apprenticeships.

In the first three quarters of its launch (August 2013 to April 2014), 7,400 learners started a traineeship programme.

Almost 50 of those learners are from Wigan Borough.