THE Euro 2016 football competition could help to drive down already near-record low unemployment levels in the Cotswolds.

New figures released last week show that people claiming job seekers allowance has dropped to 310, a 62 per cent drop from five years ago.

Of these, only 65 were young people aged 18 to 24.

“Normally we’d expect any big sports competition to have a good affect on the economy – manufactured produce themed items for people to buy and people buy food and drink while watching games. It can boost jobs too,” said Mike Nicholls, a spokesman for Gloucestershire Jobcentre Plus.

“But a lot does depend on how far England get – which doesn’t look too certain right now! We’ve also got the Olympics coming up.”

The Cotswolds has a strong hospitality sector, bolstered by strong tourism.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Stephen Crabb, said: “There are more people in work than ever before and wages are continuing their upward climb. There’s encouraging news in the South West where there are over 2.5 million people in work, with a rise of 24,000 in the last year.