Fall in county jobseeker numbers

The number of people actively seeking work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in Oxfordshire has fallen by almost 400 claimants in one month.

In June 9,207 people in the county claimed JSA compared with 9,637 people who claimed in May.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK unemployment rate had increased by 7.8% in the three months to May and is the highest for 10 years.

It said 2.38m people were currently registered as unemployed in the UK.

Highs and lows

The figures were compiled by the ONS using a snapshot of the number of people who were registered for JSA on 9 June, 2009.

Oxford had the highest number of jobseekers in the county, (8,820) while the Vale of White Horse (1,388) and West Oxfordshire (1,121) had the lowest numbers.

Cherwell and Oxford had the highest number of JSA claimants per working-age residents (2.6% of people aged 16-59 for women and 16-64 for men), and Cherwell experienced the highest increase in total claimants since last year from 1,314 in June 2008 to 2,383 in June 2009.