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Employers in the North East are being urged to give jobs to people from the region as they re-open from the coronavirus pandemic.

The call has come from Jobs@SkillsHub, a job matching service for job seekers and employers in the region which has more than 600 people actively looking for jobs, training and work experience.

The service has been set up by Newcastle City Council and the North of Tyne Authority and aims to reduce the number of people in the area who have been made redundant during the pandemic.

Recent official figures show that 7.6% of the population in Newcastle – more than 15,000 people - were on benefits and looking for work in February. This is an increase of more than two-thirds on the previous year.

Jobs@SkillsHub is aiming to support those people by offering quick access to local job opportunities, apprenticeships and training.

Jennifer Hartley, head of economic development at Newcastle City Council added: “It has been incredible to see people returning to the city centre last week as more and more businesses have been able to reopen, particularly in the hospitality and retail sectors.

“It is so important that the city’s employers support local people back to work as they look to recruit new staff during this time. Jobs@SkillsHub helps get these local jobs out to local people looking for work, and we encourage employers to sign-up and play their part in helping our economic recovery.”

The service has been launched as new research showed that three out of five businesses did not attempt to recruit staff in the first three months of the year.