North West unemployment falls

THE number of people out of work in the region fell by 3% between April and June.

According to data from the Office of National Statistics the number of registered unemployed fell by 10,000 to 319,000, or 9.1% of the working population.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was down 0.2% on the quarter to 8%. There were 2.56 million unemployed people, down 46,000.

Dr Brian Sloan, chief economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “The expectation of further increases in the number of jobs across the region, reported by businesses in our latest Quarterly Economic Survey, continues to be realised in the official data.”

He added: “The labour market is weak at present, however we must look forward and nurture the confidence and growth that we are experiencing in the region, especially as the labour market figures are likely to make for uncomfortable reading in the months ahead as young people leave full time education and seek work.”