THE number of jobless people in Bolton has fallen by more than forty per cent compared with last year.

Latest figures for the borough show that in December there were 4,191 people claiming jobseekers' allowance (JSA) compared with 7,249 in the same month in 2013 — a fall of 42 per cent.

There was also a significant drop in claimants on a month to month basis with December’s figure almost 200 down on November's total.

There are now just 2.4 per cent of the town’s working age population jobless, compared with more than four per cent a year ago.

The number of unemployed young people in Bolton continues to fall each month as well.

In December there were 755 18-24 year olds claiming JSA which was down from 820 in November and 950 in October.

Unemployment is set to be a key battleground in the upcoming General Election and Bolton West MP Julie Hilling said the positive figures did not tell the entire story of people’s individual situations.

She said: “I of course always welcome it when people get good jobs and are no longer unemployed but behind these numbers is a different story.

“When the chancellor and the Prime Minister claim great success on this issue they have not spoken to people in my constituency who are working but are still struggling to even pay their bills.

“We have lots of people working part-time when they want to work full-time, there are people on zero-hours contracts who are unable to buy a car or get a mortgage and there is an increasing amount of people relying on food banks.

“What people in Bolton need are good jobs that pay the living wage.”

Her rival for the Bolton West seat in May, Conservative Chris Green, described the latest figures as “fantastic news”.

He added: “It is great to see so many people finding employment because that is the way the economy can recover.

“The best place to start for improving standard of living is to get that first job which can be a stepping stone into a future career.”