THE employment rate in St Helens has fallen over the past year, despite rising to record highs in the UK.

New data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that the number of people in either part-time or full-time employment in St. Helens fell to 69.8 per cent between April 2017 and March 2018.

This was a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year, when the rate was at 70.1 per cent.

It comes as the Government hails record high employment for the UK in the latest quarterly national figures, which cover the period from March to May.

These show employment across the country rising to 75.7 per cent, up by 0.8 percentage points from the same quarter a year ago.

Though local employment figures are released simultaneously with the national statistics, they only cover the 12 months to March.

In that 12 month period, national employment was 74.8 per cent, putting St. Helens five percent below the national average.

The working-age population is grouped into three categories by the ONS - employed, unemployed or economically inactive.

This third category includes people who are not looking for a job, such as students or people with an illness or disability.

Of the approximately 110,000-strong working age population - those aged between 16 and 64 - in St. Helens in 2017/18, 78,000 were employed.

Despite a fall in the employment rate in St. Helens, unemployment also fell, from 4.7 per cent in 2016/17 to 4.5 per cent in 2017/18.

And when it came to economically inactive people, these made up 26.6 per cent of St. Helens's population in 2017/18, down from 26.8 per cent the previous year.

In the North West as a whole, 73.4 per cent of people were employed in 2017/18, up from 71.8 per cent the previous year.

Across Britain the employment rate ranged from a low of 60.8% for the small residential population of the City of London to a high of 91.3 per cent in Dartford, Kent.

Regionally, the area with the lowest rate of employment and the highest rate of unemployment was the North East -71 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively.

The South East had the highest employment, at 78.5 per cent, while the lowest unemployment rate was in the South West, at 3.3 per cent.

Despite high overall employment, almost every region saw an increase in the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits such as Job Seeker's Allowance. Some employed people are able to claim these benefits as well, if they work less than 16 hours per week and are on a low income.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, said: "The employment rate is now at a record high of 75.7 per cent.

"With over 3.3 million more people in work since 2010, this Government has seen on average 1,000 more people in work each and every day.

"Making sure our jobs market works for everyone is at the heart of this department's work and the modern industrial strategy, and with over 800,000 job vacancies we have a buoyant jobs market with plenty of opportunities available."