Queues for Jobseeker's Allowance in Kent and Medway have thinned by 896 people to 28,125, a fall of 6,909 year on year.

It is the eighth month in a row the county's claimant count has fallen, with drops across the board reported by local authorities in October.

Medway saw the largest fall in figures released today, with 230 fewer people on the dole - a total of 5,464.

Significant drops were also recorded in Thanet, down 118 to 4,276, and Maidstone, down 104 to 1,901.

Yet the figures show the majority of people lining up for benefits remain in the east of Kent, which also saw the most modest falls in the claimant count.

Swale’s claimant count fell by 46 to 2,732, while Shepway’s total dropped by just 15 to 2,136. Dover’s count fell by 37 to 1,987.

Large totals in Canterbury (1,891) and Ashford (1,561) fell by just 46 and 23 respectively.

By contrast, the number of claimants in Tunbridge Wells dropped by 70 to 705 – the fourth highest fall and lowest total – with Tonbridge and Malling dropping by 55 to 1,134.

The mosts significant dole queues in the west of the county are in Gravesham, where 2,038 people lined up in October, a fall of 61 and Kent’s fifth highest total. Dartford’s claimant count fell by 68 to 1,411.

Nationally, the number of unemployed people in the UK fell by 48,000 to 2.47 million between July and September, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Across the UK, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 41,700 to 1.31 million in October.

Figures released today also show that the unemployment rate in Kent was 7.5% from July 2012 to June this year, a total of 54,000.

The rate was 10.1% in Medway, a total of 13,000, where the figures are collated separately.