A RECORD number of people are in work after another fall in unemployment and a drop in numbers claiming jobseeker’s allowance, official figures have revealed.
Almost 30m adults were in a job in the quarter to last November – up by more than half a million on the previous year.
The figure, which giving an employment rate of 71%, is the highest since 1971.
Unemployment fell by 37,000 in the latest quarter to just under 2.5m, the lowest since spring, 2011.
It was the 10th consecutive fall and was coupled with another cut in the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance, which was down by 12,100 last month to 1.56m, the lowest since June, 2011.
The claimant count in Huddersfield fell by 52 during December to stand at 3,973 while the Colne Valley tally was down by 54 at 2,588. However, the figure for Dewsbury last month rose by 85 to 2,899.
The quarterly unemployment figure for Yorkshire fell by about 12,000 to 241,000 or 8.8% of the workforce.
Data from the Office for National Statistics also showed a 26,000 increase in the number of women out of work for up to six months, to reach 571,000, which may reflect changes to the benefits system resulting in more single mothers looking for work.
Part-time employment fell by 23,000, but this was offset by a 113,000 rise in the numbers employed full-time in the three months to November.
The number of job vacancies increased by 10,000.
