YORK has bucked the national and regional trend of rising unemployment in the labour market statistics released today.

The city's figures for the number of people claiming JobSeekers Allowance (JSA) continued to fall in November for the third consecutive month.

In November, 3,261 people were claiming JSA, down by 20 people from October and at the lowest level since January 2009.

In Selby, the figure rose by 33 people, from 1,366 in October to 1,399. In North Yorkshire, the figure rose 464 from 8,137 in October to 8,601 in November, back up to levels of unemployment seen in June and in the East Riding, the figures increased by 197 from 5,935 to 6,132 in November.

Unemployment in Yorkshire and the Humber rose by 0.4 per cent to 244,000 in the three months to October, official figures have revealed.

Leader of City of York Council Coun Andrew Waller said the continued fall in JSA figures were welcome, particularly because the previous two years have seen a slight increase between October and November.

"I have met with the new operators for the Barbican (SMG Europe) and the developers for the new council headquarters to make sure that residents have access to the new opportunities that these will bring. New city centre shops are opening, and space for new companies in the University of York at Heslington East are now available for the city to develop new businesses."

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that 1,000 more people became unemployed in Yorkshire, taking the total to 224,000 and the national figure increased by 35,000 to 2.5 million, the highest since the start of the year.

The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work increased by 28,000 to 943,000 nationally, one of the highest figures since records began in 1992. But in York, Coun Waller said that the biggest decrease has been in the 20 to 29 age group. "Since August we have seen a gradual reduction in the totals and the biggest change in the right direction has been in this age group," he said.