UK unemployment has fallen to its lowest level for a year after a big rise in the number of people in work.
But the claimant count in Huddersfield and neighbouring areas rose last month as more women and students signed on for Jobseeker’s allowance.
Official figures showed the UK jobless total fell by 46,000 in the quarter to June to 2.56m, an unemployment rate of 8%.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s allowance last month was 1.59m, down by 5,900 on June, said the Office for National Statistics.
The claimant count rose for local parliamentary constituencies. The total for Huddersfield rose by 55 to 3,976 in July while the Colne Valley tally was 44 higher at 2,621 and Dewsbury’s figure was up by 20 at 2,863.
Quarterly employment across Yorkshire rose by 9,000 to stand at 2.45m. However, the claimant count for July was about 300 higher at 166,400.
The national figures showed that most of the quarterly fall in unemployment was recorded in London, suggesting a big jobs boost from the Olympic Games.
Other figures showed that the number of part-time workers reached a record high of 8.07m while those working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job is 1.42m, the highest figure since records began in 1992.
Average earnings rose by 1.6% in the year to June, up by 0.1% on the previous month.
The number of people in work increased by 201,000 to almost 30m, the highest since last summer, with half of the rise coming in London. Youth unemployment fell by 4,000 to just over a million.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: “These are positive and encouraging figures demonstrating the strength of our private sector – notwithstanding the difficult economic times it is still creating jobs, the vast majority of which are full time. Unemployment is falling and the claimant count is down.’’
Unemployment has fallen for five consecutive quarters, while the claimant count was down for the first time since April.
But there was an increase of 1,600 in the number of women claiming Jobseeker’s allowance to 530,000, compared with a 7,500 fall among men, to just over a million.
