More than 1,000 new jobs for Wolverhampton in the New Year

Experts said the news is one of the strongest signs of the city's recovery yet.

Jaguar Land Rover is set to create 400 new jobs at its £500 million i54 engine plant - 200 engineering positions and 200 more from its contractor Syncreon.

PoundLand is also set to advertise for more than 100 new recruits at its Bilston warehouse, while up to 80 are being created by Wolverhampton casino Club 36.

The prison service is able to take on around 30 new prison officers in Featherstone and around 200 new jobs are expected from online sports retailer Wiggle, which is opening a distribution centre in the city next year.

There is also huge demand for forklift truck drivers, chefs and pub and restaurant staff.

Cathy Taylor, employer engagement manager at the Job Centre in Wolverhampton, said: "I have not known it to be as buoyant as this which is great news for Wolverhampton and the Black Country.

"Other parts of the country have seen this sort of growth earlier but now these signs of recovery are getting hold in this area over the last few months of 2014 and into 2015.

"There are jobs out there but we know there is a skills gap. We are working with employers to offer bespoke training to get unemployed people into work.

"Skills are vital and we are trying to do something about it to up-skill people with the courses we run."

Mrs Taylor said she expected further jobs to be created with the redevelopment of the Mander Centre and the long-awaited arrival of Debenhams.

"We anticipate this will bring other retailers to the city who will all have a requirement for new staff," she said.

The news comes after it emerged the Jobseeker's Allowance claimant count across Wolverhampton dropped by 3,000 in the last year. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the city fell by 632 on the previous month's figure, down to 7,461.

And around 450 people from the city have secured jobs at Amazon's distribution depot at Rugeley as the online retailer caters for huge demand over the festive period.

The Express & Star has also joined with expert partners to launch the Ladder for the Black Country to encourage employers to take on apprentices.

More than 100 apprenticeships have been created so far to tackle youth unemployment. Wolverhampton has the worst youth unemployment rate in the country.