REDDITCH’S MP Karen Lumley has welcomed a fall in the number of Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimants in the town.

The number of unemployed claimants in Redditch constituency in November 2012 was 1,803. This represents a rate of 3.9 per cent of the economically active population aged 16 to 64.

The number of claimants is 272 lower than in December 2011 and 44 lower than in November 2012.

Mrs Lumley said: “I welcome the news that once again there has been a fall in the number of JSA claimants in Redditch and that the unemployment rate has gone below four per cent. The first time this has happened in a number of years.

“Last year the number of new business start-ups in Redditch increased by 14 per cent, creating new jobs and new investment, showing how the Government strategy to get people back into work is working.

“Since coming into Government, we have now created over a million private sector jobs, helping to rebalance the local and national economy. The results in Redditch have been clear with unemployment down below four per cent.”