North East Unemployment Falls By 3,000

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

New figures show unemployment in the North East fell by 3,000 in the last 3 months of 2013.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that a total of 130,000 people were unemployed in the region between October and December.

The region's unemployment rate is still the highest in the country  - with one in 10 people out of work in the North East.

The worst area in the UK was the South West which recorded a 3,000 increase in the number of people without a job.

Unemployment nationally has continued to fall and a record number of women are in work, new figures revealed.

The jobless total was 2.34 million in the final quarter of last year, down by 125,000, giving a rate of 7.2%.

The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance dipped to 1.22 million in January, down by 27,000 - the 15th consecutive monthly fall.

More women are in work than at any time since records began in 1971, at just over 14 million, the data from the ONS showed.

But 1.4 million people are in part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time work, a fall of 29,000 over the latest quarter but 46,000 higher than a year ago.

Youth and long-term unemployment have both fallen.