Devon unemployment rate down 200 in December

Torbay is the only Devon area with a higher unemployment rate than the UK average

There was a slight fall in unemployment in Devon in December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Figures show 18,432 people were out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance last month - 213 fewer than the figure of 18,645 for November 2012.

In the Devon county area, the figure was 9,273 - 66 more than the previous month. Plymouth's figure fell by 358 from 6,145 to 5,787.

In Torbay, the number rose by 79 from 3,293 to 3,372 last month.

Nationally, the number of claimants fell by 12,100 to 1.56 million last month.

In percentage terms, at 2% and 3.4% respectively, both Devon and Plymouth's unemployment rate is lower than the national rate of 3.7%, but at 4.3% Torbay's is slightly higher.