BT, Boohoo, KFC and Capita are among the firms trying to bring growth to the East Lancs jobs market.

The KFC store scheduled to open in The Mall in Blackburn at the end of February has 35 positions available.

Capita TVL Darwen has a large recruitment campaign planned for 2019 with 80 positions to fill by by June.

BT in Blackburn and Accrington has 72 jobs on offer in their contact centres and Boo Hoo is recruiting throughout Pennine and East Lancs Jobcentres to fill their 100 up and coming vacancies.

But the number of young people claiming benefits in Blackburn with Darwen has risen by 14 per cent since this time last year, figures show.

As of November, there were 778 people aged between 18 and 24 claiming benefits in the borough, up by 95 from November 2017.

But there has been a 32 per cent decrease in the number of young people claiming benefits

In the North West, employment is up on the quarter with 19,000 more people in work (currently 3.48 million). The employment rate is at 75.2% - near the record of 75.2%

The unemployment rate in the North West is at a joint record low of 4.0%. This is equal to the national average.

Unemployment has halved since 2010 (to 144,000

Northern Powerhouse Minister, Jake Berry, said: “The Northern Powerhouse is about boosting jobs and the economy of the North through investment in industry, innovation, skills, transport and culture. We are supporting businesses with the investment they need to grow and, as recent independent research by the Resolution Foundation shows, Merseyside is a leader in the UK’s jobs growth with the second largest employment rate increase over the last decade.”