Unemployment in Braintree district is moving in the right direction again after a one-month blip.

The number of Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) claimants fell last month, to 1,863 people.

January had been the first month-on-month rise in unemployment in the district for a year.

In total, two per cent of people in the area aged 16 to 64 claimed JSA last month, compared to the national average of three per cent.

Younger people continue to be the worst affected - 4.4 per cent of people in Braintree district aged 18 to 24 claimed JSA in February.