Unemployment falls for first time in six months

unemployment in Oldham has fallen for the first time since last October, when local firms began recruiting seasonal labour.

There are 8,127 people out of work in the borough — a drop of 107 on the previous month — of which 5,647 were men, down 101, and 2,587 women, up eight on February.

Nationally, the number of unemployed women has reached 1.14 million, the highest figure for almost 25 years.

But unemployment overall has fallen for the first time in almost a year, leaving 2.65 million people out of work.

The total dipped by 35,000 in the quarter to February, giving a jobless rate of 8.3 per cent.

The number of people out of work for over a year jumped by 26,000 to 883,000, the worst total since 1996.