THE North-East jobless total continues to fall but the region is plagued by the highest unemployment rate in Britain, and fears persist about the security and pay rates of many new positions.

The latest figures showed the number of people out of work nationally fell by 58,000 to 1.91 million in the three months to November, its lowest level for more than six years.

Despite an improving picture in the North-East, the rates for unemployment and claimants - at 8.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively - are the highest in the country.

The North-East jobless rate is double that of the South, and the claimant rate, which measures the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance, is about three times as high in our region compared to the South-East and South-West.

But there were signs of a sustained regional upturn.

The unemployment rate dropped as fast here as anywhere in the country while the increase in employment was bettered only by one other region.

The North-East jobless total dropped by 9,000 to 110,000 thanks to a large fall in the number of unemployed women.

Whilst the number of out-of-work men remained the same at 57,000 - a rate of 8.5 per cent - as the previous quarter, for women it dropped from 62,000 to 53,000, from 10.2 per cent to 8.6 per cent.

Mark Stephenson, North East Chamber of Commerce Policy and Research Manager, said the figures were “a great start to the year with every indicator heading in the right direction.”

He added: “Employment is at a record high for the second successive month thanks mostly to businesses while unemployment is at its lowest in over five years – down 20,000 on a year ago.

“The claimant count continues its long term decrease and is down over 20,000 on the year, back to its pre-financial crisis level of 2008.

“While the North-East unemployment rate remains too high, moving below 9 per cent represents a symbolic victory.”

Jackie McNab, customer service operations manager at Job Centre Plus in Stockton, said new jobs in the care, call centre and retail industries were giving local jobseekers a boost. She also noted an upturn in the construction sector as a reason to be optimistic about the prospects for jobs and apprenticeships.

She added: “What is encouraging is that more vacancies are for new jobs, not just for replacing people who have moved on. That is a very positive sign.”

There are 30,000 more North-East people in work than this time last year.

Neil Foster, Northern TUC spoesman, questioned the terms and conditions of the jobs being created.

He added: “These figures also show that employment growth over the last two years has been twice as fast in London and the South-East than it has in the northern regions. Given that we started with higher unemployment levels then this is worrying. There is growing evidence that the economy has not geographically rebalanced as the Coalition hoped and that new divisions are emerging that need to be addressed.

“The location of new jobs created really matters to the health and vibrancy of local economies since it will determine local spending power and also to what extent regions can retain skilled individuals. We need a strategy for inclusive growth and tools and resources to give every region a decent chance to provide good job opportunities and prevent a future drain of skills and talent. Your postcode shouldn’t determine your prospects.”