North East Unemployment Falls By 8,000

19 March 2014, 09:36 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Unemployment in the North East fell by 8,000 between November and January - but the region still has the highest rate of unemployment.

Figures out this morning show there were 125,000 people out of work in the region between November 2013 and January 2014.

That's down on the 133,000 who didn't have a job between August and October.

More men in the North East were unemployed than women - with 72,000 men out of work compared with 53,000 women.

The unemployment rate in the North East has fallen below 10% for the first time since this time last year. It is now 9.5%.

The latest stats show things are looking better than this time last year though - there were 2,000 fewer people without work this year compared to 2013.

Nationally unemployment fell by 63,000 to 2.3 million.

Jobseekers Allowance claims last month also fell by 34,500.