UNEMPLOYMENT in the district has fallen to a new low this year, according to the latest government figures released today.

Data from the Office of National Statistics includes both people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and those claiming Universal Credit benefits principally for unemployment reasons.

As of June the figures show that 8,790 people in Bradford claimed unemployment benefits, down from 8,960 the previous month, a 1.9 per cent fall. In addition this represents a 16.4 per cent fall on the same time last year, and a 41.2 per cent fall on two years ago

The last time figures were lower was in December when unemployment reached 8,770 people.

The unemployment rate for the district was 2.7 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent regionally and 1.8 per cent nationally.

Catherine Monaghan, Bradford partnerships and social justice team manager at Jobcentre Plus, said that it was a "continuation of the good run" the district has been experiencing and was the result of "an accumulation of all the opportunities that are available to people in the district at the moment".

She added that the flexibility of Universal Credit, which allows people to stay on the benefit while they pick up a small wage, and then gradually reduces as they increase their hours or get better-paid work, was also helping people get back into the workforce.

Shipley saw the biggest percentage drop across the five parliamentary constituencies in the district at 2.9 per cent less than the previous month, with 840 claimants, or 25 fewer people.

While Bradford East recorded the biggest actual drop, with 70 fewer people claiming, dropping to 2,515 last month, a fall of 2.7 per cent.

In Bradford South there was a fall of 1.9 per cent or 35 fewer claimants, decreasing to 1,775.

Keighley saw a drop of ten claimants, or 1.0 per cent, to hit 990.

The area's MP Kris Hopkins said: "It is particularly noteworthy that unemployment has fallen by more than half in the six years since the Conservative-led Government came to power. 

"This reflects incredibly positively on the sound economic policies we have put in place, which have given local employers in Keighley and Ilkley the necessary business confidence to take on more staff."

And Bradford West recorded a fall of 0.9 per cent, or 25 people, to reach 2,670.

Nationally the employment rate reached a record high of 74.4 per cent, with 31.7 million people in work in the three months to May - 176,000 more than the previous quarter.

The jobless total is also 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, increased by 400 last month to 759,100, the fourth consecutive monthly rise.

New Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green said: "This remarkable set of figures shows that there are more people in work than at any other point in our history, which is fantastic news as we build a Britain that works for everybody, not just the privileged few.

"We've entered a period of significant change, but when it comes to our jobs market we're in a position of strength, with over 2.6 million more people in work than there were in 2010, the number of workless households cut to an all-time low, 750,000 vacancies in the economy and wages rising too.

"Our job now is to build on this success story so that everybody can benefit from the opportunities that are being created regardless of who they are or where they come from. Encouragingly, employment has risen in all regions and nations of the UK over the last year."