Jobless figure falls sharply (From The Oxford Times)
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Jobless figure falls sharply
11:34am Wednesday 16th May 2012 in News
By Andrew Smith, Business Editor. Call me on 01865 425460
The number of people in Oxfordshire signing on the dole has fallen by the largest amount for almost two years.
Latest figures for April from of the Office of National Statistics show there were 7,613 people out of work and claiming benefit in the county, a fall of 407 on the previous month. The last time the total fell so steeply was in June 2010.
It means there are 73 fewer people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance than at the same time last year.
The biggest fall came in South Oxfordshire where the total fell by 100 to 1,163. In Cherwell, the total rose by 23 to 1,683.
Nationally there were 1.59 million claimants, 13,700 fewer than March. The overall jobless total fell by 45,000 to 2.6 million in the first quarter of the year, the lowest since last summer.
