FEARS of job losses due to the Government’s spending cuts took the shine off figures showing a fall in unemployment.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK unemployment fell by 20,000 to 2.45m in the quarter – the lowest so far this year – as 16 and 17-year-olds went into work, training or education.

But the number of people out of work for more than a year rose by 27,000 to 821,000 – the highest total in 13 years.

And the numbers claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased by 5,300 in September to 1.47m – the second consecutive monthly rise.

Among local constituencies, the claimant count for Huddersfield rose by 23 to 3,394 last month.

The Colne Valley figure was down by 20 to 2,385 while the Dewsbury total was 45 lower at 2,464.

The quarterly jobless total for Yorkshire rose by about 1,000 to stand at about 247,000 or 9.3% of the workforce.

The number of people in work across the UK increased by 178,000 to 29.16m, the best figure for a year.

Employment is up by 241,000 on the year, but is still 270,000 lower than before the start of the recession.

Some 9.28m people were classed as economically inactive in the quarter to August – down by 66,000, largely because of a fall in the number of students counted in the figure.

The number of workers in part-time jobs reached a record high of almost 8m, while self-employment also grew to a new record of almost 4m.

Employment minister Chris Grayling said: “Another rise in employment is a step in the right direction, but clearly our priority is to get the economy motoring again, reduce the deficit and make the UK an attractive place for investment to encourage growth.”

But Vicky Redwood, senior economist at City analysts Capital Economics, said the figures provided further evidence that the labour market recovery was faltering even before the public sector job cuts begin.

She said: “The 5,300 rise in claimant count unemployment in September was the second monthly increase in a row and, although small, suggests that the trend has turned.

“Admittedly, employment still rose strongly in the three months to August, but this was a smaller rise than in the previous couple of months and the more forward-looking employment surveys have by and large been weakening.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary of trade union Unison, said: “This is the false calm before the storm. Next week the Chancellor will lay the groundwork for adding 750,000 public sector workers to the dole queues.

“The knock-on effects to the private sector will be huge. PwC predicts nearly a million jobs could be lost, and economic output will plummet by £46bn.

“The chancellor must return to the drawing board. His plans will wreak havoc with the recovery and drag the country back into recession.”