UNEMPLOYMENT in Cumbria fell again last month as the county's economy appeared to shrug off post-EU referendum uncertainty.

Official figures show there were 4,445 job hunters claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit, 1.5 per cent of the workforce, down from a restated figure of 4,565 in August.

The trend was repeated across the county.

Allerdale's jobless total fell by 25 to 1,080 (1.8 per cent), Barrow's dropped by 15 to 1,090 (2.6 per cent), Carlisle's by 25 to 915 (1.4 per cent), Copeland's by 20 to 870 (2.0 per cent), Eden's by 30 to 190 (0.6 per cent), and South Lakeland's by 10 to 300 (0.5 per cent).

The national claimant count figure – which unlike the local figures is adjusted to filter out seasonal factors – increased marginally by 700 to 776,400.

And the quarterly rolling total, which includes job hunters not eligible for benefits, increased by 10,000 to 1.66m, the Office for National Statistics said.

Average earnings increased by 2.3 per cent in the year to August, still well above the inflation rate, which is now 1.0 per cent.