The Live Register fell 1 per cent in July, hitting the lowest level since the recession began.

Seasonally-adjusted figures showed a decrease of 2,200 in the number of people signing on, bringing the total to 217,700. This makes it the lowest number recorded in the seasonally adjusted series since June 2008.

There was a fall of 1,600, or 1.3 per cent, in the number of male claimants, while female claimants fell by 700, or 0.7 per cent. That brings the total decline to 16.7 per cent and 11.9 per cent for male and female claimants respectively in the year to date.

The unadjusted figures show a total of 234,445 persons signing on the Live Register in July 2018, an annual decrease of 14.6 per cent.

The number of people classed as long-term unemployed fell almost 18 per cent in the year to July, with male claimants decreasing by 19.5 per cent and female claimants down 15.5 per cent.

Short-term claimants still account for the bulk of the register, with 140,923 – 60 per cent – people signing on classed as such.

The Live Register includes part-time workers, seasonal and casual workers entitled to jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s allowance. There were 45,145 casual and part-time workers signing on in July, which makes up about 19 per cent of the total register. That is down from 20.1 per cent a year earlier, when 55,247 casual and part-time workers were on the Live Register.