Fewer people jobless

OLDHAM kept pace with the national trend by seeing joblessness fall by 156 people in December.

The number of people out of work is 7,576 — a drop attributed to temporary and seasonal contracts.

The January figures will be a truer test of the actual unemployment picture.

One surprise was that only 45 fewer women found work: Christmas normally sees a far bigger boost.

The number of men out of work fell to 4,898 — a drop of 111 — taking the figure below 5,000 for the first time since July 2011.

Nationally, a record number of people are in work after another fall in unemployment and a further dip in the numbers claiming jobseeker’s allowance.

New figures show that almost 30 million adults were in a job in the quarter to last November, up by more than half a million on the previous year.

The figure, giving an employment rate of 71 per cent, is the highest since records began in 1971.

Unemployment fell by 37,000 in the latest quarter to just under 2.5 million, the lowest since spring 2011.