UNEMPLOYMENT rose in south Cumbria last month, according to official figures released today.

In Barrow there were 1,135 job hunters claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit, 2.7 per cent of the workforce, up from a restated figure of 1,125 in November.

It also rose from 15 to 325 (0.5 per cent) in South Lakeland and by 30 to 915 (1.4 per cent) in Copeland.

In the county as a whole there were 4,430 job hunters claiming the two beneefits, 1.5 per cent of the workforce, up from a restated figure of 4,415 in November.

Eden also saw a rise in its figure by 10 to 210 (0.7 per cent).

Carlisle bucked the county trend though and saw the number of claimants fall by 50 to 805 (1.2 per cent). There was no change in Allerdale, where the figure remained at 1,045 (1.8 per cent).

Overall there were 115 fewer people out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit in Cumbria than at the same time in 2015.

Shane Byrne, employer partnership manager for Cumbria with Jobcentre Plus, put the rise down to the end of seasonal contracts.

He said: "We have engagement with employers and they are positive about recruitment.

"The message we are getting from employers is they are looking for people with the right skills."

Nationally, unemployment has fallen to its lowest total for more than a decade.

The jobless total was 1.6m in the quarter to November, down by 52,000 on the previous three months to its lowest since early 2006, meaning the UK now has one of the lowest jobless rates in Europe at 4.8 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

But the numbers in work fell by 9,000 to 31.8m, the lowest since last autumn, although the employment rate of 74.5 per cent is the joint highest level on record.

The number of people classed as economically inactive has increased by 85,000 to almost 8.9m - the biggest quarterly rise since 2014.

This figure includes students, people looking after family, on long-term sick leave, or who have given up looking for a job.

Employment Minister, Damian Hinds, said: “We start the new year with another encouraging set of figures. Employment continues to run at a near-record high, unemployment remains at an 11-year low and both figures are stronger than this time last year – highlighting the strength and resilience of our labour market as we step up to the challenges of 2017."