THE North-East has a record number of people in work after maintaining an employment renaissance, according to a new report.

Latest figures show the region warded off the threat of being the UK’s jobless hotspot between February and April.

The numbers mean the region rid itself of a long-held label of being the country’s worst off area for unemployment for a second consecutive three-month period.

The Government says there is now a record high of 1.22 million people in work across the region, with the employment rate reaching 72.2 per cent, its highest level since comparable records began.

Last night, Jobcentre Plus told The Northern Echo the North-East job market was “buoyant”, with businesses seeking people for posts across a raft of sectors.

According to the figures, released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the region’s jobless rate stood at 70,000 people, or 5.4 per cent, in the three months to April.

The number was less than the 76,000, or 5.9 per cent, recorded between January and March.

However, more significantly, it was also less than the six per cent rate in London, where 290,000 were unemployed, and the 166,000 in the West Midlands, which had a rate of 5.9 per cent.

Carol Daniell, employer and partnerships manager at Jobcentre Plus, who covers Darlington and County Durham, said the figures were reflective of greater confidence in the region.

She also cited 84 inward investments across the North- East between April 2016 and March this year, which she said has helped companies create new work and expand operations.

She told the Echo: “The labour market is significantly more buoyant than it has been in the past.

“There is a range of jobs across education, automotive and hospitality, as well as engineering and care work.

“There is a large amount of jobs that seem to be coming in from all of our sites.

“The General Election may have an impact (going forward) but there is confidence.”

According to the figures, the South-West had the lowest unemployment in the three months to April, with its 97,000 figure translating into a rate of 3.4 per cent.

Nationally, the ONS said employment reached a record high, with almost 32 million people in work.

It revealed the figure was 372,000 more than a year ago, adding unemployment fell by 50,000 in the quarter to 1.53 million, the lowest for more than a decade.