Unemployment falls to 'record low' - Farron

Tim Farron has welcomed the news that unemployment in South Lakeland has fallen to a 'record low' according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics.

Here in Cumbria there were 4,309 people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit. This equates to 1.4% of the county's total workforce. Across the whole county the claimant count has plunged by a third over the last twelve months.

Locally our unemployment rate is the lowest in recent times and is 0.5% of the population. In the last month it has fallen by 53 to 331.

Tim said: "Today's figures show that unemployment is at its lowest in modern memory and this is something we should be proud of. Businesses, schools and our college are all working together to create the skills base that our local economy needs.

"We must keep working to roll out the living wage starting with the public sector, further boost apprenticeships and improve infrastructure. These are my priorities and my agenda in the days, months and years ahead."

Nationally, the figures show that the rate of employment is at a new record high of 73.4 per cent. In the last three months, the number of jobs created increased by 248,000. During the quarter youth unemployment fell by 21,000 and 151,000 on the year.