The harsh economic conditions being experienced by hard-pressed residents of Dudley show no signs of improving with record numbers of people seeking debt advice and debt management services in regards to payday loans and doorstep borrowing. To compound the issue, it has been reported that the number of poeple chasing every job vacancy is at a record high, with DFS recently announcing that it receieved 2500 applications for just 22 positions.
In a small but welcome peice of good news for the local economy in Dudley, the furniture specialist DFS has recently advertised for 22 new members of staff to run its latest store being opened at the Merry Hill shopping centre. However, it has been reported that nearly 2500 people applied for the vacancies, which meant that one hundred people were competing for each job on offer.
DFS are opening their new store in the vacant 17,000 square-foot unit that was previously occupied by Comet, the electrical goods store that ran into trouble in the second half of last year. Questions have been raised as to whether the unprecedented numbers of applicants is as a result of an extremely successful advertisement campaign on the company's website or a sad reflection of the desperate times that face many Dudley residents currently claiming jobseekers allowance.
According to latest figures, there are nearly a quarter of a million unemployed people across the West Midlands region, which is an area of the UK that has been particularly hard-hit by the recession. One of the problems that has come to light recently has been the higher number of people taking out high interest loans such as payday or doorstep loans, just to pay the bills and get by.
Dudley MP Ian Austin has angrilly condemned the rise in numbers of Payday Loans lenders across the region and has called these types of companies a "complete disgrace" and likened them to "legal loan sharks". He has urged the government to impose a cap on the interest rates that Payday Loan companies can charge and is urging local residents to make more use of Credit Unions instead, who he says charge less and offer more support.
If you are seeking debt advice in Dudley as a result of turning to payday lenders to get by, then contact UK Money Solutions free on 08000 748 059. We are based just up the road in Birmingham city centre and have helped many hundreds of residents looking for debt management in your local area. Clcik HERE to contact us online.
