THE number of unemployed people signing on in Reading has fallen for nine consecutive months.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today show the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 70 from 1,701 to 1,631 between October and November which is 1.5 per cent of the working-age population.
The number of people signing on in Wokingham dropped from 604 to 540, giving the borough the lowest percentage of JSA claimants at 0.5 per cent, while Slough has the highest percentage of working age population in Berkshire claiming benefit at 1.8 per cent, despite a drop of 90 from 1,758 to 1,668.
In West Berkshire, figures were down 30 to 631 (0.6%), while unemployment was also down in South Oxfordshire to 453 (0.5%) despite a small rise during the previous month from 474 to 478.
Across the South East there were 66,566 claimants (1.2%) down 2,318. Nationally, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance last month fell by 39,686 to 848,085.
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