UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen in Cumbria for the third month in a row.

There were 5,305 job hunters claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit last month, 1.8 per cent of the workforce, down from a restated figure of 5,445 in June.

The claimant count fell in five of the county's six districts.

Barrow and South Lakeland saw the biggest drops; with the figure falling by 45 to 1,060 (2.6 per cent) in the former and by the same number to 320 (0.5 per cent) in the latter.

Next was Carlisle, where the figure fell by 20 to 985 (1.5 per cent), then Allerdale with a drop of 15 to 1,530 (2.6 per cent) and Copeland with a fall of five to 1,185 (2.8 per cent).

The only district not to record a fall was Eden, where there was no change and the figure remained 230 (0.7 per cent).

Julie Routledge, the Department for Work and Pensions' employer partnership manager in west Cumbria and Barrow, said: "There are lots of opportunities; there is lots of work in retail, lots of work in hospitality and lots of work in care homes."

She added that recruitment for seasonal work over Christmas was now under way and pointed out that the Universal Credit scheme, which is replacing Jobseeker's Allowance as well as several other benefits, will see people supported once in work.

Shane Byrne, who has the equivalent position for Carlisle, Eden and South Lakeland, said: "I am really not surprised that the figures have gone down at this time of year."

He also said there was a need for people to be willing to accept lifelong learning as part of their job.

"If you are doing a job you enjoy, why would you not want to do it better," he asked.

Nationally, employment has reached an all-time high and pay growth picked up pace.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of people in work rose by 125,000 to 32.07m in the three months to June, with the employment rate climbing by 0.3 per cent to a record 75.1 per cent.

Annual growth in wages was 2.1 per cent for April to June, up from a revised figure of 1.9 per cent for March to May.

ONS senior labour market statistician Matt Hughes said: "The employment picture remains strong, with a new record high employment rate and another fall in the unemployment rate.

"Despite the strong jobs picture, however, real earnings continue to decline."

Employment minister Damian Hinds said: "These statistics show that record levels of people are in work across the country and earning a wage, which is great news.

"Over the past year the rise in employment has been overwhelmingly driven by permanent and full-time jobs, as employers continue to invest in Britain's strong economy.

"The task now is to build on this success through Jobcentre Plus and our employment programmes so that everybody can benefit from the opportunities being created."