IT is a tough battle to be fought for jobs for unemployed people in Warrington.

Statistics from January indicated that dole claimants in Warrington outnumbered jobs by six to one, with 4,091 jobseekers to 617 vacancies.

February's statistics showed a ratio of 6.6 when it came to jobseekers and vacancies, with 711 unfilled jobs at the Jobcentre Plus.

The latest statistics, issued last week, showed 1,400,000 jobless people in the UK were fighting for a dwindling number of jobs.

At Woolston-based Apple Web Offset 125 people face redundancy if proposals go ahead.

Four-hundred-and-fifty people stand to lose their jobs at four Carphone Warehouse call centres, one of which is in Warrington.

In the last month two care homes, one in Orford and one in Stockton Heath, were denied planning permission. Both had used the argument that they would bring jobs to the area to say they should be built.

In the town centre JJB, MFI and Woolworths are just some of the casualties of the recession that are gone from Warrington’s streets.

Last month the Early Learning Centre in the Old Fish Market was added to the list of businesses gone bust in Warrington.

The Golden Square shopping centre has 17 empty units, some previously filled by stores like Joy and Principles, others never filled at all.

Walking down Bridge Street, once a bustling high street packed with people, is now a depressing affair, faced with empty shop after empty shop.

They were never refilled after giants like Boots moved into the Golden Square.

In December, the Warrington Partnership Board heard that the rate of unemployment is up 50 per cent in the town.

Warrington Borough Council re-introduced a redundancy action team to help businesses keep trading so employees could be kept on.

Companies in practically all industries are cutting costs and making redundancies, and with banks tightening their belts securing loans is more difficult.

Recent figures from Barclays Bank demonstrated that the number of people setting up new businesses in Warrington fell by 10 per cent last year.

In 2008, 1,500 businesses were started compared to 1,700 in 2007.

Warrington-based clinical hypnotherapist Michael Mahoney used the recession as a prompt to create a redundancy survival CD entitled Laid Off, Move On.

“Most people understand the financial impact of redundancy, the sudden loss of a career and a salary but in my experience it is the emotional impact of redundancy that can have the most devastating effect on individuals,” said Michael, who is based on Guardian Street.

“The shock can lead to the collapse of your inner resources robbing you of the energies needed to cope and move on.”