SWINDON seems to be winning the war on unemployment.

Numbers of people in dole queues across the town have fallen for the second consecutive month. New figures from the Office of National Statistics show there are 4,623 claiming out of work benefits in the town compared with 4,686 the previous month. It means 3.5 per cent of the town's population who are able to work are currently claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) compared with 3.7 per cent across the country.

Of the 4,623 claimants 1,170 are young people aged 18 to 24, most of whom have been claiming for less than six months. Just five young people have been on the out of work benefits for more than 12 months.

Claimant counts also fell across North Wiltshire for two consecutive months and now stands at 1,772.

Nationally claimant count increased by 12,400 to 1.47 million, the largest increase in 16 months, the Office for National Statistics figures show.

Economists were expecting a fall of between 4,000 and 10,000.

UK unemployment fell by 36,000 in the three months to the end of March to 2.46 million, the second quarterly drop in a row, the official figures show.

The number of jobless 16 to 24-year-olds decreased by 30,000 and the number of people in employment increased.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling welcomed the figures: “It’s good news to see that unemployment is also going in the right direction and pleasing that unemployment has fallen for young people.”

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said: “We welcome any glimmer of good news but these figures are a sign we are not out of the woods by a long stretch.

“A host of respected business organisations are warning that choppy waters are ahead, and this is why we are saying the Tory-led Government needs to do far more to get Britain back to work.”

Economists warned that unemployment is likely to head up over the coming months, despite the improvement seen in the latest figures, as the Government’s austerity measures bite. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, has forecast unemployment to increase to 2.67 million by the end of this year. There are currently 900 jobs being advertised on Job Centre Plus boards across Swindon and 543 in North Wiltshire, an estimated one-third of all positions available.