THE number of people claiming unemployment benefit and universal credit in Barnsley fell slightly to 5,115 in October, latest monthly figures show.
The figure was a 1.4 per cent decrease on the previous month. It was a 34 per cent increase on the same month last year, but a 18 per cent drop compared to the same month five years ago.
The figure for those aged 18 to 24 claiming the same benefits is now 1,070, which is a 2.3 per cent decrease on the month before, a 27 per cent increase from the same month last year, but a 41 per cent fall compared to five years ago.
Changes to the benefit system mean the figures seem inflated since last year, and many of those included in the figure more than a third of the total are in work but claiming universal credit.
It includes those who would previously have been on housing benefit or tax credits.
Nigel Coleman, from Jobcentre Plus, said: “There is lots of recruitment going on in Barnsley. Yorkshire and the Humber is top of the economic pile in the UK at the moment, and Barnsley is doing particularly well.”
