Unemployment falls in Bedford

1,773 people claimed unemployment benefits in May, compared to 1,859 the same time last year.

However towns are still above the national average, with an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent compared to a UK-wide figure of 2.4 per cent.

Unemployment also fell elsewhere in the county, with figures organised by Parliamentary constituency.

In Mid Bedfordshire there was a 12.2 per cent drop to 426 claimants, with just 0.8 per cent of eligible people registered as unemployed.

North East Bedfordshire had similar figures, with a 11.7 per cent fall in unemployment claimantsover the last year.

And in South West Bedfordshire unemployment fell by 16.1 per cent, with 592 people claiming benefits.

Across the two Luton constituencies there were 1,605 people registered as unemployed. This was a fall of 9.2 per cent from May 2015 in Luton North and 11.7 per cent in Luton South.