Fewer Nottingham people are claiming Job Seekers Allowance than a year ago according to new figures released by the Office of National Statistics.
The amount of people in Nottingham claiming the benefit has decreased from 11,604 in January 2014 to 8,526 in January this year – a decrease of more than 3,000 people.
The number of claimants was at a 30-year record low in December but rose slightly in January.
The increase has been blamed on a seasonal spike when temporary job contracts ended after the Christmas period.
Unemployment has also fallen in the East Midlands by 17,487 in the last three months of 2014 compared to the previous three months where unemployment was at 132,407.
The number of people in jobs rose over the same period from 2.21 million to 2.24 million.
Today’s figures have been welcomed by the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce.
Positive
Chamber chief executive, George Cowcher, said the figures were very positive and highlighted how much progress the economy had made over the past 12 months.
He added: “It’s also positive to see wage growth is now outstripping inflation. A focus on improving productivity from business will ensure this is sustainable.”
In the East Midlands employment is above the national average with 74.5 per cent of people employment in Nottingham compared to 73.5 per cent across the UK.
East Midlands is also below the national average for unemployment with 5 per cent of people unemployed regionally compared to 5.7 percent nationally.
