A RECORD number of jobseekers and new vacancies gave a Gloucestershire job board a hectic start to the year, latest figures reveal.

GlosJobs.co.uk saw 121,282 visits and 2,326 new job adverts uploaded last month – at the same time as the UK unemployment rate figures fell to 7.1 per cent.

This was up from January 2013, with 120,318 visiting the site in January 2013 2,157 new adverts uploaded by employers.

Belinda Wilson, director of GlosJobs.co.uk and GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership ambassador for Gloucestershire, said more businesses are expanding to cover skills shortages while retaining valuable existing employees.

“Confidence appears higher and is no doubt boosted by recent economic headlines, with more people searching for jobs and more vacancies being posted,” she said.

“With optimism and confidence come new opportunities to flourish, and with unemployment rates falling this is excellent news for the county.”

GlosJobs.co.uk was formed by Belinda Wilson and Dan Homer in 2001, after spotting a niche gap in the market to help Gloucestershire employers find the right employees.