UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen slightly compared to this time last year and the figures are also down on the previous month, according to to the latest data.

Figures for May dropped by 0.8 per cent on the year to 9,130, down from 9,200 in 2016. May's figure is a new three-month low, falling by 1.7 per cent from April.

The figures were 16.0 per cent lower than the number of claimants in the district two years ago, which was 10,865.

In Yorkshire and Humber the claimant count was 75,746, a rise of 950 on the previous month and a rise of 908 on the previous year, indicating that Bradford has bucked the regional trend.

The claimant rate remained at 2.8 per cent in the district, compared to the regional figure of 2.3 per cent and the national figure of 2.0 per cent.

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

Heather Barraclough, of Jobcentre Plus, said there were a number of reasons for the positive changes in Bradford.

These include that retail, manufacturing, and health and social care the top employment sectors in the district, that 88 per cent of all firms in Bradford are micro businesses, and that redundancies are at a low level regionally, she added.

Figures fell across all of the district’s five parliamentary constituencies, month-on-month.

Keighley saw the highest percentage fall at 2.8 per cent, a drop of 30 people with a total of 1,060 claimants.

In Bradford South there were 1,880 claimants, a fall of 2.3 per cent on the previous month, or 45 people.

There was a fall of 55 people, or 2.2 per cent in Bradford East, with a total of 2,465 claimants.

And in Shipley the number of claimants fell by 2.1 per cent, or 20 people, to hit 935.

Bradford West experienced the smallest drop at 0.2 per cent or 5 people, to hit 2,790 claimants.

Both Shipley and Bradford East hit a new low for 2017.