Unemployment in Cumbria fell last month, official figures show.

There were 4,935 job hunters claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or the new Universal Credit, 230 fewer than in April, making up 1.6 per cent of the county's workforce.

Seasonal recruitment in tourism and construction may have been responsible for the fall, but the figures appear to show that the long-term downward in Cumbrian unemployment has faltered. There were only 15 fewer claimants than in May last year.

The month-on-month fall in the claimant count applied across Cumbria.

Allerdale's total fell by 35 to 1,095, Barrow's by 50 to 1,150, Carlisle's by 60 to 985, Copeland by 45 to 910, Eden's by 15 to 215, and South Lakeland by 25 to 345.

Nationally, the seasonally-adjusted claimant count was almost unchanged at 746,100 while the quarterly rolling total, which includes job hunters not eligible for benefits, fell by 20,000 to 1.67m, the lowest since spring 2008.

The Office for National Statistics also said that average earnings increased by 2.0 per cent in the year to April, well above the inflation rate of 0.3 per cent.