by business editor Trevor Sturgess

County unemployment has fallen by more than 900.

Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics showed that in March 35,953 people were out of work and claiming Job Seekers Allowance across Kent and Medway, 928 lower than the previous month.

This almost reverses the steep 1,054 rise in March.

Medway’s total fell by 192 to 6,890 (4% of the workforce), while 736 left the dole queue in the rest of Kent, cutting the jobless tally to 29,063 (3.2%).

All Kent’s 12 districts saw a fall in claimant count, with the biggest dips in Thanet (down 105), Swale (down 93) and Gravesham (down 90).

Nationally, unemployment jumped by 70,000 to 2.56 million (7.9%) in the three months to February. The claimant count fell by 7,000 to 1.53 million.

Unemployment figures: Kent and Medway, 35,953 (down 928); Medway, 6,890 (down 192); Rest of Kent, 29,063 (down 736); Ashford, 1,971 (down 72); Canterbury, 2,395 (down 26); Dartford, 1,867 (down 54); Dover, 2,706 (down 49); Gravesham, 2,611(down 90); Maidstone, 2,583 (down 44); Sevenoaks, 1,201 (down 34); Shepway, 2,780 (down 53); Swale, 3,447 (down 93); Thanet, 4,947 (down 105); Tonbridge and Malling, 1,523 (down 49);

Tunbridge Wells, 1,032 (down 67).