UK unemployment is now the lowest for eight years - with 12% fewer Huddersfield people claiming Jobseekers Allowance than a year ago.
Figures from the office for National Statistics showed the UK employment rate reached a record high of 74.4% with 31.7m people in work in the three months to May – up by 176,000 on the previous quarter.
Unemployment fell by 54,000 to 1.65m during over the quarter – down by 201,000 compared with a year ago, giving a jobless rate of 4.9%.
The jobless total for Yorkshire and Humber fell by 16,000 to 151,000 over the three months.
UK unemployment is now the lowest for eight years, while the rate is the lowest since the summer of 2005.
But the claimant count, including those on Jobseeker’s Allowance, rose by 400 last month to 759,100, the fourth consecutive monthly rise.
Among parliamentary constituencies, the claimant count for Huddersfield in June rose by 40 to 1,780 while the Colne Valley figure fell by 15 to 1,055.
However, the Huddersfield claimant count is still 240 or 12% lower than a year ago while the Colne Valley total is down by 140 or 12%. Among 18 to 24-year-olds the claimant count for Huddersfield stands at 410, which is 10 fewer than a year ago. The Colne Valley figure of 245 is down by 20 on June, 2015.
Jo Ledgard, Kirklees operations manager for Jobcentre Plus, said the July figures were expected to show a slight increase as students “signed on” for the summer holidays, but said: “We are working with more small employers who are recruiting or supporting us by offering training. We are also working with employers and training providers to identify local skills gaps.”
