THE number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Wirral has fallen for a 20th successive month, according to new figures.

The Office for National Statistics said 3,518 claimed the benefit in January - a drop of 76 from the previous month. According to ONS figures, the unemployment rate has is now at a seven-year low, with a record number of people in work.

Across Merseyside, the number of people claiming jobseekers’ allowance fell again at the start of the year.

The claimant count across the county stood at 24,803 in January – down 1% on December.

Nationally, the ONS said the employment rate has never been higher and said that on average over the past year, more than 1,600 people were in work each day.

This brings the number of people in a job to a new record of 30.9 million.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "With unemployment continuing to fall, wages rising, and a record number of people in work, it's clear that the Government's long-term economic plan to get the country back on track is working.

"The jobs-led recovery is changing people's lives for the better on a daily basis. We are getting people into work, making work pay, and in so doing we are ensuring a better future for Britain."

The UK jobless total dipped by 97,000 in the quarter to last December to 1.86 million, almost half a million down on a year ago, while employment increased by 103,000 to almost 31 million, the highest since records began in 1971.

The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance was cut by 38,600 in January to 823,000, the 27th consecutive monthly fall and the lowest since the summer of 2008.

The UK now has the third lowest unemployment rate in the European Union at 5.7%, behind Austria (4.9%) and Germany (4.8%), according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Pay continued to rise ahead of inflation, with average earnings increasing by 2.1% in the year to December, 0.3% up on the previous month.

Long-term unemployment fell by 210,000 for those out of work for over a year, to 638,000, but there was a 3,000 increase in youth unemployment.

Self-employment was down by 19,000 over the latest quarter to 4.5 million, around 14% of total employment.

The number of people in part-time jobs wanting full-time work is also down, by 28,000 to 1.3 million.

But people classed as economically inactive, including those on long-term sick leave, looking after a relative or who have given up looking for work, increased by 22,000 to more than nine million.

Shadow employment minister Stephen Timms said: "Today's fall in overall unemployment is welcome but five years of the Tories' failing plan has left working people £1,600 a year worse off since 2010. Low pay has left millions of working families struggling to make ends meet and has led to billions more spent on the housing benefit bill."

Mr Timms said it was "extremely worrying" that youth unemployment had increased.