Unemployment fell in the months before Brexit

Total employment across the three counties rose 24,528 from 2,270,286 in the three months to April 2016 to 2,294,544 in the quarter to the end of June 2016, according to figures released this morning.

Scott Knowles Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber, said: “These figures remain very positive and show that, despite the uncertainty leading up to the referendum, businesses continued to recruit in the months before the vote and immediately afterwards during July.

“Much of this recruitment will have been planned before the referendum and there have been reports claiming recruitment has fallen since the vote so next month’s figures will probably be the first real indication of how businesses reacted to the vote to leave the EU.”

The figure from the Office of National Statistics was 34,652 higher than the same period last year and 74,601 up on two years ago.

The number of people out of work and claiming Jobseekers allowance across the three counties fell in the month following the referendum, also according to figure released today.

Derbyshire recorded a drop of 25 from 2,530 in June to 2,505 in July, Nottinghamshire recorded a drop of 135 from 7,735 in June to 7,600 in July and Leicestershire recorded a drop of 60 from 3,560 in June to 3,500 in July.

Of the three cities, only Nottingham recorded a small rise in the number of Jobseekers Allowance claimants, up 15 from 7,030 in June to 7,045 in July.

The number of Jobseekers Allowance claimants in Derby fell 25 from 6,290 in June to 6,265 in July and in Leicester the figure fell 240 from 4,520 in June to 4,280.

Across the three counties as a whole, the number of claimants fell 465 from 31,665 in June to 31,200 in July and by 2,910 when compared with July 2015.