CLACTON’S MP has called on people not to “talk down” the town following a report that one in five people in the resort have never had a job.

Research for the Clacton Place programme, which is aimed at reducing health inequalities, also revealed that half all people over 16 in the resort are economically inactive.

While Clacton does have a significant number of economically inactive people claiming benefits, like most seaside towns it also has seasonal work patterns and a shortage of big employers – and a large elderly population – which could skew the figures.

Government statistics show that economic inactivity in Clacton is at 47 per cent – compared to the UK average of just 22 per cent.

After the issue was featured on BBC Look East, Clacton MP Giles Watling said that “economically inactive people” listed including people who retire here under 64, and not just people who have lost jobs.

“Our benefit claimant count is not dissimilar to many Essex areas and much lower than many city areas,” he said.

“Clacton has many thriving businesses and communities, and I reject the almost constant assault we get from some quarters.

“That notwithstanding, Clacton does need massive investment.

“I keep saying in Parliament, as we discuss levelling up, that the East of England is not homogenously rich.”

He said that Clacton will benefit from £20million following Tendring Council’s successful bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and that Clacton Hospital is also receiving millions of pounds of upgrades.

“My message is that we shouldn’t talk Clacton down – instead, let’s talk about the massive opportunities we have and how we must seize on them."

Ivan Henderson, Tendring Council's cabinet member for economic development, told the BBC the offshore energy industry could bring thousands of jobs to Tendring.

"There are a lot of jobs that are going to be coming on board for young people to actually take advantage of,” he said.

"We need to make sure we work with our education partners to make sure people are geared up and have the skills and qualifications to meet those challenges.

"Levelling-up is just a word - what we need to do is make it a reality."