Unemployment in Folkestone and Hythe fell for the eighth consecutive month, figures released today reveal.

The figures published by the Office of National Statistics show there were 2,187 job seeker claimants in September, a fall of 146 compared to the 2,333 in August.

It follows the improving trend of fewer claimants over the course of the year.

There were 2,760 claimants at the turn of the year and despite this increasing to 2,866 in February, numbers have fallen month on month since.

There is more postive news for youth unemployment as figures for the constituency are at their lowest level for nearly five years.

According to the latest numbers 525 young people aged 16 to 24 are claiming for job seekers allowance, a fall of 30 on August numbers and the lowest since December 2008.

Those figures too have fallen for an eighth consecutive month. They were at 710 in February.

Meanwhile, figures for long term unemployment are at their lowest point in over a year with 730 claimants who have been out of work for longer than 12 months.

Shepway overall has also seen claimant numbers fall and those out of work is at its lowest level since December 2008.

The whole district has seen numbers fall for eight straight months. In total 2,151 people are claiming job benefits in the area with 151 coming off the dole queue last month.

Unemployment among young people is down to 520 down from 705 in February.

And long term unemployment is down to its lowest level since May 2012 which has fallen regularly since February to 720 claimants.

Have you recently returned to work? What helped you back get back into employment?

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