A total of 90 unemployed people in Birmingham have landed new jobs at Tesco, providing a boost to the region’s flagging employment sector.

Scores of jobless people living in the Hodge Hill area of East Birmingham have secured posts at a new store due to open in January 2010.

The out of work residents were offered the jobs after successfully completing a job-matching training programme.

The news came after new data showed unemployment fell by 8,000 in the region in the last quarter – but there are still 274,000 people out of work in the region, a rate of 10.1 per cent, which is an increase of more than three per cent year-on-year.

The scheme is being run with Tesco by Bournville College as part of the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) and West Midlands Leaders Board’s (WMLB) regional European Social Fund (ESF) programme.

Coun Neville Summerfield, Cabinet member for regeneration at Birmingham City Council, said: “This is a marvellous example of the private sector working hand in hand with the public sector. We are confident that more than 100 local employees will be in place when the new store opens in January 2010.”

Patricia Rowe of Jobcentre Plus added: “This project demonstrates the valuable role that employers working with Jobcentre Plus can take in supporting local communities.”

Tony Fletcher, corporate affairs manager at Tesco, said: “This is our 27th Regeneration Partnership and over the nine years we have been operating these partnerships, we have been able to help around 4,000 long-term unemployed people back to work.”