Jobcentre Plus celebrated another milestone today when Andrew Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, opened James Cook House - the 500th Jobcentre Plus office in Middlesbrough city centre.

Accompanied by Jobcentre Plus Chief Executive David Anderson and Steve Davidson, District Manager of Tees Valley District, the Minister toured the facilities and spoke to staff.

Since the opening of its first office in 2001, Jobcentre Plus has helped 2.4 million people into work and 450,000 employers a year fill their vacancies

The latest landmark means the organisation has now reached the halfway stage of its rollout which is due to have 1,000 offices operating across the country by 2006.