Thousands more are employed in region

The Office for National Statistics released the latest Labour Market Statistics yesterday.

It showed that just over 1.2million people are in employment in the region and the unemployment rate has dropped.

However, the claimant count has risen across the North East by 4,400, compared to this time last year, and now stands at 52,300.

It is the same picture in Northumberland, where the claimant count has risen by nine per cent over the last year and currently stands at 4,625. Of these, 1,125 are aged 18 to 24.

This is a national trend and a Jobcentre spokesman has attributed this to the fact that more people are coming back into the jobs market, there are a greater number of active jobseekers and that the number of people claiming Universal Credit is now also counted.

Reflecting on the picture for the North East, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Damian Green said: “There’s great news in the North East where the number of people in work has risen by 33,000 over the past year, to a near record 1.18 million people in work.”