Unemployment in the East Midlands has fallen to its lowest level in almost eight years, according to figures released today.

The Office for National Statistics issued its latest monthly regional employment bulletin this morning, which showed that there were 117,000 people unemployed in the region in the three months to January 15. The last time the figure was this low was in April 2007.

The regional unemployment rate is now 5.2%, compared to the national rate of 5.7%.

The total number of people (aged 16-64) in employment in the region increased by 1,500 to 2,142,369 in the three months to January, meaning there were 51,749 more people in work than in the same period last year.

There was a slight monthly increase in the number of people in Nottinghamshire claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) in February, as the end of seasonal employment contracts continued to filter through.

However, there were 7,238 fewer claimants across the city and county than there were in February 2014.

The East Midlands Chamber has welcomed the figures.

Its Head of Information and Representation, Chris Hobson, said: “This was another extremely positive set of employment figures, with the number of JSA claimants across the region falling significantly over the year, the number of people in work increasing and the unemployment rate in the East Midlands now well below the national average.

“Over the course of this Parliament, the unemployment rate in the East Midlands has fallen by 2.2% and this has largely been driven by the efforts of local businesses in creating the jobs and generating the growth needed to secure and sustain the economic recovery.

“With the General Election in the not-so-distant future and the inevitable uncertainties that will bring, business will be hoping the Chancellor keeps a steady hand on the tiller with his Budget announcement, rather than make any politically-motivated announcements which risk unpicking the strong progress the economy has made over the past two years.”