The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance across the Liverpool city region has fallen below 20,000, official figures show.

jobless

The claimant count in Liverpool, Knowsley, Wirral, Sefton, St Helens and Halton fell 3.6% to 19,818 from June to July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is 41% drop from a figure of 33,619 jobseeker’s allowance claimant a year ago.

The biggest fall was in Liverpool where the claimant count dropped by 452, followed by Knowsley (139), Wirral (83), St Helens (29), Halton (22) and Sefton (20).

Nationally, unemployment has increased for the second month in a row, reaching 1.85m.

The jobless total went up by 25,000 in the quarter to June, the first time there have been two consecutive rises for two years. The ONS said it was possible the jobs market was “levelling off”.

There were 31m people in work in the latest quarter, 63,000 fewer than the three months to March, but 354,000 more than a year ago.

A record 14.5m women are in work, while employment for men slumped by 71,000 to just under 16.5m compared with the previous quarter.

ONS statistician David Freeman said: “This is now the second consecutive time we’ve reported fewer people in work on the quarter.

“While it’s too early to conclude that the jobs market is levelling off, these figures certainly strengthen that possibility. Growth in pay, however, remains solid.”

Information taken from Liverpool Echo Website.