UNEMPLOYMENT in the Malvern Hills has fallen to a new low but firms are facing difficulty in finding skilled workers.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics put the number of people unemployed and claiming benefit in the Malvern Hills this month at 513, a reduction of 14 on the number for March. Unemployment at this stage last year stood at 665 and in 1999 at 876.

Unemployment has been dipping dramatically over the last couple of years with large numbers of jobs being created, particularly in retail at Waitrose and the retail park at Roman Way.

Peter Morgan, spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said the fall in unemployment was "good news". But he said the chamber recognised there was a skills shortage in Malvern, especially in the areas of craft-trained engineering and computer-related technology.

Firms have the choice of making an investment in training or having to find workers from outside the immediate area, he said.

"Malvern has difficulty because there is a particularly high concentration of technology there," he said.

Paul Walker, chairman of the Enigma Park Business Partnership, said firms recognised the issue of skills shortage and were working hard to provide training packages to continue to recruit locally.

In the long term, he said companies were trying to work with pupils at schools to ensure they know about the opportunities for work locally before moving on to higher education.

"It's part of our responsibility to make sure they are aware of that, to do that we have to raise awareness in the schools because after they leave school they will be off," he said.

School visits to businesses have been held and firms had made presentations to pupils as part of the efforts, he added.