UNEMPLOYMENT in East Lancashire has fallen new figures have shown, bucking the national trend.

New statistics showed that there were 14,002 people claiming job seekers’ allowance in the region last month, 102 fewer than February’s figures.

Blackburn with Darwen saw the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fall by 51 from 4,481 in February to 4,430 last month.

In Burnley, there were 22 fewer applications for the unemployment benefit last month, with 2,871 people out of work.

There was a similar case in Pendle, which saw its unemployment rate fall by 47 from 2,284 in February to 2,237 last month.

And in the Ribble Valley, which has the fewest number of unemployed people in East Lancashire, there was a fall from 578 in February to 556 last month.

In Rossendale, the rate stayed almost the same, with 1,749 people claiming benefits this month in comparison to 1,750 in February.

Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, said: “I am delighted to see a fall in unemployment.

“Given the good news from local employers like Silentnight I hope the numbers will continue to decrease, however we cannot be complacent.

“Unemployment remains a significant issue in Pendle and I am pressing the government to do even more to help.”

The only borough to see a rise in its unemployment rate was Hyndburn, which saw 2,159 people looking for work - 41 more than the previous month.

Graham Jones, MP for Hyndburn, said: “The Prime Minister presents a variety of facts to claim how unemployment is not a problem.

“The reality is it is creeping up month on month in Hyndburn.

“Finding a job is becoming ever more difficult as more people apply the for the vacancies that exist.

“This month 41 more families have been thrown in to turmoil.”

However, unemployment in all six of the region’s boroughs is still up on the same time last year.

In the North West, unemployment rose by 1,100 last month to 204,300.

And the picture was similar on a national scale, with the total of 1,551,500 claimants in March, up 3,400 on the previous month.