The Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP was in Croydon today (Thursday, July 8) as a new, temporary job centre was opened in the hopes of boosting employment in the area.

The new jobs centre will be run from Simpson House, Cherry Orchard Road and The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said that 72 "work coaches" were already part of its team.

The government hope to boost employment numbers after several devastating waves of Covid-19 and the associated economic fallout left hundreds of thousands of Britons out of work over the last 18 months.

Speaking at the opening of the new centre, Davies said:

"Today marks one year of our Plan for Jobs and I’m incredibly proud to see it being delivered here by our committed Work Coaches in Croydon.

"We know this has been a challenging time for many people and that’s why we’re boosting our DWP Jobcentre support all over the UK, including South London.

"Every customer benefits from having a dedicated Work Coach. They know the local jobs market and work with local businesses to match jobseekers to the latest nearby opportunities - from Kickstart to Sector Based Work Academies, their vital work gets people thriving and ready to progress."

Ella Beila is one of those new recruits based at the new Jobcentre.

Speaking on Thursday, she said:

"What I love most about being a Work Coach is the relationships we are able to build with some of our communities’ most vulnerable claimants.

"Witnessing the growth in their confidence and personalities with each meeting, makes every day feel special for me.

"The best feeling is seeing their excitement and desire to tell you about their achievements and successes. Being able to share in these moments and see their life turn around makes the job so worthwhile."

Unemployment in the UK most recently peaked at 4.8 per cent between January and March this year, and has since fallen slightly as some restrictions were lifted.

Recent data analysis has suggested that young people, hospitality workers and Londoners bore the brunt of the hundreds of thousands of job losses associated with the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.

The government hopes that lifting almost all remaining restrictions on July 19 will see the unemployment rate fall even further, but the proposals have been labelled "unethical" and "reckless" by various leading scientists and politicians in recent days who point to the dangers to people and the NHS of allowing Covid-19 to spread among a partially vaccinated population.