THE number claiming unemployment benefits in Wirral rose last month – according to figures which show employment at a 40-year high.

Data from the Office For National Statistics reveals the claimant count, which includes people on Jobseeker's Allowance and the unemployment element of Universal Credit, stood at 5,990.

Nationally, the number of people in work has continued to rise – up by 42,000 to 32.39 million, although the rate remained at 75%, said the ONS.

Job vacancies increased by 20,000 to a record high of 829,000, while average earnings increased by 2.4% in the year to June, down from 2.5% the previous month.

The number of workers on zero-hours contracts fell by 104,000 over the past year to 780,000, the first substantial fall since the ONS started tracking the figures in 2000.

The percentage of workers employed on a zero-hours contract is now 2.4%, down from 2.8% a year ago.

Senior ONS statistician Matt Hughes said: "The number of people in work has continued to edge ahead, though the employment rate was unchanged on the quarter.

"The growth in employment is still being driven by UK nationals, with a noticeable drop over the past year in the number of workers from the so-called A8 eastern European countries in particular."