UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen again slightly in the Bradford district, with 69 fewer people claiming benefits, according to government figures released today.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in Bradford during January continued the downward trend, reaching a level not seen since December 2007.

Remaining below the 9,000 mark for the second month in a row, the statistics released by the Office of National Statistics revealed that a total of 8,620 people claimed unemployment benefits, down from 8,689 the previous month.

The unemployment rate for the district remains constant at 2.6 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent regionally and 1.5 per cent nationally.

Within the district unemployment continued to fall across four of the five constituencies.

Keighley saw a rise of eight JSA claimants, from 1,016 to 1,024, an increase of 0.8 per cent.

The biggest drop in those claiming JSA was in Bradford East with 45 fewer people receiving the benefit last month, down to 2,491 - a fall of 1.8 per cent.

In Bradford West, 17 fewer people claimed JSA, a drop of 0.7 per cent to 2,523.

In Bradford South this figure dropped to 1,715, by 14 claimants, a 0.8 per cent fall.

Meanwhile, Shipley saw the smallest drop, by one claimant, to 867, a 0.1 per cent drop.

Nationally a record number of people are in work and unemployment has fallen by another 60,000 to its lowest rate for a decade, figures showed.

The jobless total dipped to 1.69 million in the final quarter of last year, a rate of 5.1 per cent, the lowest since the end of 2005.

More than 31.4m people are in work, the highest since records began in 1971.

The number of people on the claimant count, including JSA fell by 14,800 last month to 760,200, the lowest since the summer of 1975.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "February is another record- breaking month, with the employment rate now at the highest it has ever been and wages continuing to grow.

"At a time when we are seeing the number of workless households at its lowest ever, this is further proof that our economic and welfare reforms are delivering more security and providing opportunities that give families the best chance in life."

The government said a number of record-breaking figures were released, including a 70 per cent employment rate for older people, an employment rate of young people who have left full-time education at a 10-year high of 74.7 per cent, more than a million more women in work since 2010 and 150,000 more disabled people in work over the past year.