Unemployment eased slightly in Ipswich last month, according to official figures.

Unemployment eased slightly in Ipswich last month, according to official figures.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the Ipswich borough fell by 22 compared with October to 3,803, although the proportion of the workforce out of work remained unchanged at five per cent.

The neighbouring districts of Babergh and Mid Suffolk also saw the so-called claimant count fall - in Babergh by 44 to 1,310 (an unemployment rate of 2.6pc) and in Mid-Suffolk by 31 to 1,178 (2.1pc).

In Suffolk Coastal, however, the count edged upwards by 17 to 1,479 although the jobless rate remained unchanged at 2.1pc.

The figures published by the Office for National Statistics are not adjusted for normal seasonal changes and the figures may have benefitted from the start of recruitment for temporary Christmas jobs.

However, the national claimant count, which is seasonally adjusted, also fell last month, by 6,300 to 1.6 milliom - its first reduction since February last year.

Total UK unemployment, which includes those not eligible for benefit, increased by 21,000 in the latest figures to 2.49 million, the highest level since early 1995, but the increase was the smallest seen for 18 months.