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Unemployment has fallen across northern Cambridgeshire since the last election despite the UK's rising jobless rate - but the south of the county is being left behind.
The UK's unemployment rate surged to 5% in the three months to September, up from 4.8% the previous quarter, and the highest since August 2016, excluding the pandemic period.
However, separate figures mapping unemployment in local areas show that most parliamentary constituencies have seen unemployment fall since Labour swept to office in July 2024, promising to tackle joblessness.
These figures are measured by counting the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in each parliamentary constituency. This is different to how the national unemployment rate is calculated.
They show that around 1.7 million people were receiving Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit with a requirement to seek work as of last month, or 4% of the adult population.
While that is about 29,000 more people than in September, it is nearly 65,000 fewer than in October 2024 and more than 70,000 fewer than when Labour took office in July last year.
Overall, unemployment rates have fallen in Cambridgeshire during that time, with 18,145 people claiming benefits in October - 1,105 fewer than in July 2024.
The figures split Cambridgeshire in two, with the four northern constituencies seeing a decline in unemployment, and the four southern constituencies witnessing a rise in benefit claimants.
Peterborough saw the biggest proportional drop in unemployment, by 6.6%, with 960 fewer claimants than in July last year. Unemployment also fell in North East Cambridgeshire, North West Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdon.
However, unemployment increased in Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire, St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire, and Ely and East Cambridgeshire.
South Cambridgeshire saw the biggest increase, by 11.4%, with 125 more unemployment benefit claimants in October than at the last general election. South Cambridgeshire has the lowest unemployment rate in our area, with just 1.9% of the adult population claiming unemployment benefits.
Unemployment remains higher in the north of our county than the south. Peterborough has the highest unemployment rate (6.5%), followed by North East Cambridgeshire (3.6%), and North West Cambridgeshire (3.6%).
You can see whether unemployment is rising or falling where you live using our interactive map.
The unemployment rate, which paints a far gloomier picture than the benefit count, is measured using surveys to include everyone looking for and available for work, whether they are claiming benefits or not. This is the international measure of unemployment, as defined by the International Labour Organisation.
However, this method is not reliable for assessing unemployment at a local level because of the small number of survey respondents in each area.
A count of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance, or Universal Credit with a requirement to seek work, more accurately tracks unemployment in parliamentary constituencies.
In November of last year, the government published the "Get Britain Working" White Paper, an ambitious roadmap to achieving an 80% employment rate.
The latest figures show that the UK employment rate stood at 75.0% from July to September, down from 75.1% in the previous quarter, but up from 74.6% in the quarter before Labour took office.
The government's white paper, backed by a £240 million investment, seeks to "target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity".
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, said the government was "stepping up our plan to Get Britain Working".
He added: "We've introduced the most ambitious employment reforms in a generation to modernise jobcentres, expand youth hubs and tackle ill-health through stronger partnerships with employers.
"And this week we're going further by launching an independent investigation that will bolster our drive to ensure all young people are earning or learning.
"We're backing businesses to grow and create jobs by cutting red tape, signing trade deals and securing hundreds of billions in investment, which helped make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year."