EMPLOYMENT levels in the region have soared to record highs, with the number of people in work at 1,180,000, according to the latest figures.

A total of 72.1 per cent of people of working age are in employment, representing a rise of 2.3 per cent - or 49,000 people - year-on-year.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed quarter-on-quarter growth in employment was up by 20,000.

The labour market statistics for the three months to January were equally positive for unemployment across the region, which was down 4,000 year-on-year and fell by 5,000 quarter-on-quarter.

The North-East had the highest yearly fall in unemployment rates in the UK, although its jobless rate of 6.1 per cent is still the second highest of all regions outside London.

North-East Chamber of Commerce spokesman Mike Parker said: "It is time to put to bed once and for all any suggestion that the North-East is not a prosperous region. Practically every round of statistics over the past year has shown what phenomenal growth is occurring. We should all be tremendously proud and celebrate the fact that industry is leading this resurgence."

The ONS figures also showed that an extra 45,000 people had become economically active in the past year, taking the total to 1,257,000, while the number of economically inactive people had fallen by 29,000 year-on-year to 369,000. The trend was not echoed nationally, where the number of people classed as economically inactive, including long-term sick, students and those who have given up looking for a job, increased by 42,000 in the quarter to 7.88 million - more than a fifth of the working age population.

However, the UK saw employment levels rise by 18,000 in the three months to 29.02 million, coupled with a 3,000 drop in unemployment to 1.69 million.

The UK has lower unemployment than most of Europe