Unemployment has fallen in Cumbria, following five months of rising figures.

There were 5,460 job hunters claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit last month, 1.8 per cent of the workforce, down from a restated figure of 5,475 in April.

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

Carlisle saw the biggest drop, where the figure fell by 35 to 1,015 (1.5 per cent).

Barrow and South Lakeland were joint second, both seeing a fall of 25 to 1,140 (2.7 per cent) and 360 (0.6 per cent) respectively. In Eden the figure fell by 10 to 235 (0.8 per cent).

The figure went up in west Cumbria with both Allerdale and Copeland seeing a rise in claimants.

In Allerdale it rose by 30 to 1,510 (2.6 per cent) and in Copeland it also rose by 30 to 1,200 (2.8 per cent).

Shane Byrne, employer partnership manager for Cumbria Jobcentre Plus, said the rising figures in west Cumbria could be down to the continuing rollout of the Government's Universal Credit. Claimants of this benefit will appear on unemployment statistics even if they are in work.

He added: "There are great opportunities (in west Cumbria), how do we give people the skills to take advantage of that."

In the rest of the county, he believed that the fall in unemployment was likely to be down to seasonal recruitment and that he has been working with firms like baker Bells of Lazonby, Center Parcs in Penrith and salmon firm Pinneys in Annan to fill such vacancies.

"If I was a betting man I would say that unemployment will also fall (when it is reported) in July and August," he said.

Nationally employment has reached a record high. Almost 32m people are in work - 372,000 more than a year ago and the highest total since records began in 1971, according to figures from the Office for National Stateistics (ONS).

Unemployment fell by 50,000 in the quarter to April to 1.53m, the lowest for more than a decade.

New Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke said: "This Government wants to give everyone the opportunity to succeed, regardless of where they live or their background.

"This is yet another strong set of record-breaking figures, with employment up and unemployment down, fuelled by full-time opportunities.

"This is good news for families as we continue to build a stronger, fairer Britain."