The number of Leicestershire people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance fell by 206 last month, official figures today revealed.
The claimant count for the county dropped by about 1 per cent to 21,210 between November and December.
Business leaders put the decline down to temporary jobs created by shops, pubs, hotels and restaurants to cope with the Christmas rush.
Max Boden, policy manager at Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, admitted that the claimant figure for January was very likely to have increased when it is published in a month's time.
However, he said many of the 177 jobs lost by the closure of camera chain Jessops, which had its head office and two stores in Leicestershire - as well as redundancies from other failed store groups - may be offset by new employment at distribution centres around the county as online retailers, which mail goods directly to customers, grew.
The claimant count for the county dropped by about 1 per cent to 21,210 between November and December.
Business leaders put the decline down to temporary jobs created by shops, pubs, hotels and restaurants to cope with the Christmas rush.
Max Boden, policy manager at Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, admitted that the claimant figure for January was very likely to have increased when it is published in a month's time.
However, he said many of the 177 jobs lost by the closure of camera chain Jessops, which had its head office and two stores in Leicestershire - as well as redundancies from other failed store groups - may be offset by new employment at distribution centres around the county as online retailers, which mail goods directly to customers, grew.
