Unemployment in Cumbria has remained unchanged.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) there were 5,235 people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit – equating to 1.7% of the population – in November, exactly the same as dramatically revised figures for October.

Initial figures for October put the number of claimants at 5,165 – a significant difference of 70 compared to the revised figure released by the ONS of 5,235 on Wednesday.

There were rises in half of Cumbria’s six districts.

Allerdale saw the biggest rise, with 20 more claimants, taking the total to 1,505 and equating to 2.6% of the population. South Lakeland saw a rise of 10, to 325 (0.6%), and Eden five, to 240 (0.8%).

Copeland saw the biggest drop, with 20 less claimants, taking the total to 1,190 and equating to 2.8% of the population. Carlisle saw a fall of 10 to 940 (1.4%) and Barrow a fall of five to 1,035 (2.4%).

Shane Byrne, partnership manager for Jobcentre Plus in Cumbria, said the static picture in terms of statistics, did not reflect the situation on the ground.

“We are really busy and still helping out employers to find skilled jobs in specialist sectors, while retail is holding well and hospitality is booming,” he said.

“We’re not seeing any significant redundancies and not rumblings about any coming, so it really is business as usual.”

He said that Jobcentre Plus was no longer seeing dramatic spikes and reductions in seasonal recruitment, particularly in the food and drink and retail sectors.

“Employers are clever about how they recruit now, and how they retain their best people,” he added.

Mr Byrne said there was a strong focus on promoting the Department of Work and Pension’s (DWP) ‘Access to Work’ programme, which provides support for employers who employ, or who are looking to employ, people with disabilities.

He also stressed that Jobcentre Plus was working closely with councils to ensure that any benefit payments due over the Christmas period were paid before Bank Holidays and any office closures.

Julie Routledge, partnership manager for Jobcentre Plus with a focus on west Cumbria and Furness, said there had been a number of successes in her patch, particularly through proactive work with employers.

She said the Jobcentre Plus in Workington had now helped 80 West Cumbrians secure work at seafood processor Pinneys Of Annan, who were providing free travel to its site.

Proactive ventures out in to town centres along the coast have also led to increased engagement from businesses, while a jobs fair is being planned for February.

In Barrow she Jobcentre Plus was supporting recruitment for the new Costa Coffee drive-through, a new Cancer Research superstore and was continuing to support Premier Inn with its recruitment drive in Ulverston, in addition to the 30 roles already filled,

“We’ve been really busy in terms of recruitment and on the jobs front – there’s a lot going on,” added Ms Routledge.

Nationally, DWP said unemployment was at a four-decade low with more than 32m people in work over 660,000 people receiving Universal Credit, 40% of which were in employment.