THE number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance has fallen below one million for the first time in six years, new figures showed today, but the North-East has the highest jobless and claimant rates in Great Britain.

Nationally, the claimant count fell for the 22nd month in a row in July by 37,200 to 966,500, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the first time the figure has been below one million since September 2008.

The claimant count rate was highest in the North East at 4.9 per cent and lowest in the South East at 1.6 per cent. This mirrors the unemployment rate which is highest in the North-East at 9.9 per cent, and lowest in the South-East at 4.4 per cent.

The national jobless total was 2.02 million in the quarter to July, down by 146,000 on February to April, giving a lower-than-expected unemployment rate of 6.2 per cent.

Analysts had forecast an unemployment rate of 6.3 per cent.

The jobless total is now 468,000 fewer than a year earlier, the largest annual fall in unemployment since 1988. However, North-East unemployment rose by 1,000 in July.

Average earnings including bonuses rose by 0.6 per cent in the year to July, while average earnings excluding bonuses were 0.7 per cent higher.

There are now 30.61 million people in work, 74,000 more than February to April, the smallest quarterly increase since April to June 2013.