FEWER people in Yorkshire are unemployed or living in deprived areas, a report has revealed.

But rising incomes for top jobs mean inequalities between rich and poor have widened.

The report commissioned by research body Yorkshire Futures said the good news was that fewer people in the region were out of work, living in workless households or living in areas which were among the 20% most deprived areas nationally.

However, the gap in incomes between the best off and the worst off grew by more than 3.5% between 2002 and 2006 – a time when the gap nationally remained static. The gap in life expectancy also appeared to be widening.

The report said global factors were driving inequalities.

It said: “While increasing demand for higher skilled, high paid jobs is driving the top end of the labour market, wages are rising less quickly for more basic jobs and there is a decline in the proportion of ‘intermediate’ jobs. The ‘shrinking middle’ points to a more divided society.

The report said regional development agency Yorkshire Forward alone had safeguarded or created more than 22,000 jobs in 2006/07 by investing in the region.

Yorkshire Futures director Les Newby said: “In a way, the region is a victim of its own success. As more people have gained skills and seized new job opportunities, the gap to those left behind has widened.

“Raising aspirations and educational attainment – and new opportunities in the most disadvantaged communities – are key to a long-term solution.”