A FALL in the number of unemployed people in Bradford for the sixth month in a row has been welcomed by JobCentre Plus.

A total of 8,670 people claimed out-of-work benefits in September, down from 8,780 in August.

The number is down by 695 from September 2016, figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal.

The percentage of Bradford’s workforce claiming benefits is still above the national average, at 2.6 per cent compared with the national figure of 1.9 per cent and the Yorkshire figure of 2.2 per cent.

Heather Barraclough, employment partnership manager at JobCentre Plus Bradford, said: “This is good news. Employment is up by seven per cent on last year and 56 per cent from five years ago.

“We have seen big recruitment locally by firms such as Jet2.com, Argos and Toys R Us.”

Ms Barraclough said it was positive news that Bradford’s claimant count has bucked the national trend by falling.

She said: “It’s nice to see so many employers are recognising people from Bradford have a lot to offer.”

The Bradford East constituency has seen the biggest reduction in the number of people unemployed, with 2,315 people claiming benefits, down by 90 from August and 345 from September last year. Figures show 3.2 per cent of the workforce are currently unemployed.

Shipley is the only constituency to see a rise in unemployment from August, with 905 claiming out-of-work benefits, up by 25 from August. However, it still has the lowest unemployment rate in the district at 1.5 per cent, and the number of unemployed is down by ten from last year.

Bradford West has seen the second highest drop in unemployment, down to 2,675 in September from 2,705 in August, and 2,875 12 months ago, but continues to have the highest unemployment rate of 3.6 per cent.

In Bradford South, the number of people in work went up by 15, with 1,735 people currently out of work. The number is down 150 from September 2016, when the figure was 1,885. The rate of unemployment in the constituency is 2.7 per cent.

While the number of people out of work in Keighley has dropped by ten from August to 1,035, the number is higher than this time last year, when 1,030 people were out of work.

Nationally, the claimant count increased by 1,700 to 804,100 last month.