UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen again across Bradford according to the latest figures.

Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 120 fewer people claimed out-of-work benefits in the past month.

The figure for the district has dropped from 8,625 claimants in October to 8,505 in November.

It is the eighth month in a row that unemployment has fallen in Bradford, meaning that 2.6% of people are now registered as out of work.

But this figure remains higher than the regional and national statistics, with 2.2% unemployed for Yorkshire and The Humber and 1.9% for the UK.

The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits fell for every parliamentary constituency in the area, with Bradford West seeing the greatest reduction as 40 fewer people were registered as unemployed than in October.

But Bradford West still had the highest number of jobseekers - 2,610.

Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, said the figures were not accurate because of changes to unemployment benefits through the Universal Credit scheme.

She said: “The reason for the drop is because of the Universal Credit roll-out. I do not take this as an effective measure of a drop.”

Imran Hussain, MP for Bradford East said: “Whilst I welcome any fall in unemployment, this is an absolutely tiny decline and there are still over 8,000 claimants in the Bradford district, over 2,000 of whom are living in Bradford East.

“Work is also no longer the route out of employment that it should be, with the ONS finding that weekly wages are rising well below the rate of inflation, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation finding that one in eight of workers in the UK are living in poverty despite having a job.

“Bradford can be a fantastic place to work and has been recognised as one of the top locations to launch new small and medium-sized businesses, but we are still ignored in favour of Leeds and we still have significant hurdles to overcome to encourage growth and get more people into employment, and the Government has to seriously acknowledge the difficulties we face in the North and actually deliver on their Northern Powerhouse plans.”

Shipley had the fewest unemployed residents with 895 claimants, down 15 from last month.

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, welcomed the news.

He said: “I am delighted about this further significant reduction in unemployment.

“So much for all of those people who said unemployment would go through the roof straight after voting to leave the EU.”

The figures show that the majority of Bradford’s jobseekers - 4,605 people - are aged between 25 and 49.

Tracy Othen, partnership manager at the Manningham Lane Job Centre, said unemployment in the area had dropped by 56% in the past five years.

She said: “Year on year the number of people receiving out-of-work benefits in Bradford has fallen.”