Claimant count drops in city – but only just

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The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in Sunderland dropped fractionally last month.

There were 5,465 people claiming benefits – including Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance – in the city in November, a fall of just 35 on the previous month and 190 fewer than the same time last year.

Steve McCall, from JobCentre Plus, said: “Compared with last year, we have seen the employment rate in the region has gone up by 1.8 per cent.

“The unemployment rate has gone down by 0.7 per cent.

“The rise in the employment rate in the region is the largest increase in the while of the country.”

North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) senior economist Victoria Sutherland, said: “Today’s statistics are positive for the North East.

“Employment in the region has increased by 17,000 over the past quarter and by 28,000 over the year.

“And while unemployment levels have remained steady over the quarter, they have reduced over the year, with 7,000 fewer people unemployed than a year ago.

“The North East has seen the greatest improvement in the proportion of its population aged 16 to 64 that are in employment of all the regions and nations in the UK.

“The region has also seen the largest increase in its economic activity rate, suggesting increasing employment opportunities are bringing more people into the labour market.

“However, whilst the region has made significant progress, levels of unemployment in the North East are still among the highest of the UK regions.

The North East Strategic Economic Plan sets out a range of actions that aim to deliver more and better jobs for the region.”