UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen to its lowest level in the district this year, according to the latest data.

Figures for June dropped by 1.6 per cent on the previous month to hit 8,975, which is a new 2017 low.

In addition this was 1.0 per cent down on the same time a year ago, and a 14.6 per cent drop on 2015.

The claimant rate also fell to reach 2.7 per cent in the district, compared to the regional figure of 2.2 per cent and the national figure of 1.9 per cent. All fell slightly by 0.1 percentage points.

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.

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

Shipley saw the highest percentage fall at 5.3 per cent, a drop of 50 claimants to reach 890 people.

In Bradford South there was also a drop of 50 claimants, which was a fall of 2.7 per cent, with a total of 1,825 people in the constituency claiming unemployment benefits.

The number of claimants in Keighley fell by 1.4 per cent of 15 people to 1,055.

There was a fall of 30 claimants, of 1.1 per cent, in Bradford West, with a total of 2,760 people.

And Bradford East experienced the smallest drop at 0.2 per cent or 5 people to hit 2,450 claimants.

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

In Yorkshire and Humber the claimant count was 76,863, a rise of 301 on the previous month, and nationally the figure was 828,952, a rise of 0.7 per cent on the previous month.

This indicates that Bradford bucked both the regional and national trends.

In the last quarter the employment rate reached 73.3 per cent in Yorkshire with 2.6 million people now in work.

Unemployment is also down 9,000 on the quarter and at its lowest rate in more than a decade.

Minister for employment, Damian Hinds, said: “These latest statistics are another reminder that our strong economy is giving record numbers of people the chance to find and stay in work.

“There’s good news in Yorkshire and the Humber, where the unemployment rate is at 4.8 per cent - the lowest it has been since 2005.

“We’re committed to delivering a welfare system which transforms lives and offers help to those who need it most, whatever their background or wherever they are from.”