UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen substantially across Hampshire since the height of the pandemic last year.

In Southampton, the total number of people claiming universal credit because of joblessness stood at 10,911 last month – 11 per cent down on July 2020.

In Eastleigh, the figure stood at 2,709 – 23 per cent down on a year ago.

In Winchester, the total dropped 17 per cent 2,442 and in the New Forest it was down 23 per cent to 3,579.

The number of claimants in Test Valley fell 24 per cent in 2,314, while in Fareham it fell 24 per cent to 2,060 and in Gosport 14 per cent 2,575.

Robert Shearman, senior employment and partnerships manager with the Department for Work and Pensions, said the figures pointed to a recovery.

“The new claimants are back to pre-pandemic levels. We’re not seeing a huge influx of new customers,” he said.

“When we’re thinking about looking for work, there are plenty of vacancies.

“There are some sectors that are really desperate for people, like hospitality and logistics. If you’re looking to work in those areas or wanting to retrain for a job, you’ve got a good chance of finding work.”

Among people aged 18-24, the number of claimants fell 10 per cent to 1,958 in Southampton, 20 per cent to 531 in Eastleigh, 15 per cent to 437 in Winchester and 19 per cent to 653 in the New Forest.

The figure for young people dropped 28 per cent to 408 in Test Valley, 25 per cent to 399 in Fareham and seven per cent to 565 in Gosport.

The figures come as employers prepare for the end of the furlough scheme, which supported nearly nine million jobs at its peak. There were 1.9m people on furlough at the end of June.

Nationally, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 182,000 between June and July, although at 28.9million it was still 201,000 lower than before the pandemic struck.

It said the rate of unemployment had dipped to 4.7 per cent for the three-month period to the end of June.

The ONS also reported a further surge in job vacancies as firms seek to fill roles following the reopening of the economy, rising by more than 290,000 against the previous quarter.

It added that, at 953,000, the number of vacancies was the highest estimated figure since records were started in 2001.

Arts, leisure and food service firms particularly contributed to the surge in job openings, it added.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS, said: “The world of work continues to rebound robustly from the effects of the pandemic.

“The number of people on payroll was up again strongly and has now grown over half a million in the past three months, regaining about four-fifths of the fall seen at the start of the pandemic.

“Meanwhile, early survey figures show that the number of job vacancies passed one million for the first time ever in July.

“There was no sign of redundancies starting to pick up in our survey data ahead of the furlough scheme beginning to wind down, and Insolvency Service figures for July suggest the same.”