Unemployment in Falmouth and Penryn has risen by around 15 per cent on this time last year, according to job centre figures.

As of October there were 405 people registered unemployed at Penryn JobCentre Plus, compared to 350 at the same time in 2015. The figure is comparable to the situation two years ago when there were 400 people looking for work in the area.

Martin Williams, Department of Work and Pensions employment manager for Cornwall, said the among the figures there was good news for younger people, as 85 of those unemployed fell into the 18 to 24 age bracket, compared to three or four years ago when about a third of those unemployed were in the same age range.

However, the percentage of unemployed people over 50 had risen, with that age bracket accounting for 115 of those without work.

Mr Williams said: "That's where our issue is and we need to try and get those down."

For the Falmouth and Truro constituency as a whole, unemployment was three per cent up on the same period in 2015, but it was still 43 per cent down on the 2010 figures, when the country was still reeling from the effects of global recession.

Mr Williams said: "Job wise the situation is really, really healthy, there's a lot of job opportunities out there."

He added that there were a lot of retail opportunities opening up, and the construction industry had seen the biggest growth, while on the recruitment side there was still a shortage of care workers.

Asked about the nature of a lot of the jobs that were becoming available, he said there was a "range" of salaries, a "split" with around half being part time and half full time, and "more permanent than temporary" jobs available.