Unemployment in the North East has fallen for the third month in a row, though it remains the highest in the UK.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the regional unemployment rate up to the end of February stood at 5.4%. That was a fall of 0.1% from last month, though significantly above the national average of 3.8%.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the North East also fell to stand at 80,445. That figure is now only around 5,000 higher than pre-pandemic levels.
