The unemployment statistics for May were published yesterday.

The good news is that in North Devon (the parliamentary constituency)  the claimant rate was only 0.6%.

The total number of claimants dropped by 43.9% compared to the previous year – from 659 to 370.

The claimant rate for youngsters (18-24) dropped by 46.7% – from 150 to 80.

Less good news for older claimants though. For people aged over 50 the claimant rate dropped by only 26.7% over the previous year.

Better news for the long term unemployed though. The number of people unemployed for more than 12 months dropped by 50% from 140 to 70.