Unemployment has fallen significantly in the North East, with the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits finally falling below pre-pandemic levels.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the region’s headline unemployment rate falling 0.4% to 5.0% in the three months to the end of March, and the number of people on benefits fell below 75,000 for the first time in more than two years.
But the North East’s unemployment remained the highest in the country and well above the national average of 3.7%, while the number of people in the region classed as economically inactive was above 25%. Nationally, the ONS said the figures showed a “mixed picture”, with unemployment falling to its lowest level since 1974 but earnings in most sectors of the economy failing to keep pace with rising inflation.
