The number of unemployed people in the East Midlands fell in the three months to December from 3.4 per cent to 3.3 per cent.
The regional jobless figure was lower than the 3.7 per cent national average, according to latest Office for National Statistics data.
However, the number of working-age people who have dropped out of the labour market due to things such as retirement, caring duties, long-term ill health or studying, climbed to a record high of 22.7 per cent, compared to a UK rate of 21.4 per cent.
