UNEMPLOYMENT in Bradford dropped slightly in August from the previous month, the latest jobs figures have shown.

In August, the claimant count for the Bradford district was 8,800, down from 8,830 in July, and down from 9,370 in August 2016.

The percentage of people unemployed in Bradford remains higher than the regional and national average, at 2.7 per cent, higher than the Yorkshire and the Humber figure of 2.2 per cent and the national figure of 1.9 per cent.

Bradford East has seen the largest rise in employment around the district, with 2,410 on out-of-work benefits in August compared with 2,430 in July, and an unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent. The number of people on benefits has dropped by 285 in the past 12 months.

Bradford West continues to have the highest number of people out of work in the district, with 2,705 people out of work, down from 2,720 in July and 2,835 last August, although the unemployment rate is still the district's highest at 3.6 per cent.

In Bradford South, the number of people in work dropped from July to August, going from 1,745 to 1,765. The number is down by 110 from August last year.

In Shipley, the number of people on out-of-work benefits has remained at 880, which accounts for 1.5 per cent of the workforce in the constituency. The number is down from 920 in August 2016.

Five people have found work in Keighley in August, with the number of people unemployed dropping from 1,050 in July to 1,045. This number, 1.8 per cent of the workforce, is the same as it was in August 2016.