Get off the Underground at Stratford in east London and you might wonder whether there was a recession on at all. The shopping centre is bustling and builders are hard at work putting up facilities for the Olympic games.rnThere are still plenty of new "customers" at the job centre near the station, however. The Stratford branch is one of 750 run by Jobcentre Plus, the government's job-search and benefit agency. Before the recent jump in unemployment it had been focusing particularly on getting longer-term claimants back into work, says Mel Groves, its acting chief executive. Now it faces a huge challenge in dealing with the new people passing through its doors.rnStaff at Stratford are offering special sessions for new claimants of jobseeker's allowance (jsa) on how to search for work online as well as guidance on preparing cvs and interview techniques. Getting a job is a far from hopeless task for those with the right skills and determination. Even in recession, there is great turnover in the labour market. Across the country there are 10,000 new vacancies available at Jobcentre Plus every working day, and half of new jsa claimants leave the register within three months.
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