THE number of people out of work in Wirral has continued to fall, according to new figures.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows 3,850 claimed Jobseekers' Allowance or Universal Credit in October, a drop of 115 on the previous month.

Merseyside JobcentrePlus spokesman Clive Morris told the Globe: "The employment rate is strong across the country and this is reflected in Merseyside.

“The top sectors in Wirral tend to be in retail and hospitality.

"Happily, the future in these sectors seems to be stable.

“We’re also working hard to ensure that people have the right skills to fill vacancies and that people aged 50 and over are getting the support they need.”

Nationally the jobless total was 1.6m in the quarter to November, down 52,000 on the previous three months to its lowest since early 2006.

The claimant count fell by 10,100 last month to 797,800, the lowest since last September, although it increased by 600 among women.

The number of job vacancies in the economy fell by 5,000 to 748,000.

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."

The Government highlighted other figures showing that youth unemployment is down by more than 360,000 since 2010 and the lowest in 11 years, while long-term unemployment is the lowest since mid-2008.

Separate statistics showed that 900,000 claims for Universal Credit had been made to December, with an average of 13,000 new claims per week in the preceding four weeks.

Of those on Universal Credit, 43% were in work.