Leicestershire's dole queue shrunk at its fastest rate for six months in June.
Figures released today said the claimant count fell by 714 – or 3.3 per cent – to 20,660 last month.
In the city, the figure fell by 364 to 12,187, while in the county the number dropped by 350 to 8,473.
Martin Traynor, chief executive of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is the biggest monthly fall in the Jobseekers' Allowance claimant figure since January.
"Obviously, from our point of view this is encouraging, but there are still skill shortages out there which are causing businesses problems."
He said the chamber estimated there were between 24,000 and 26,000 vacancies in the county. Jobcentre Plus, the Government jobs agency, no longer provides monthly updates on the number of vacancies in a specific area.
Nationally, the claimant count fell by 21,200 – or 1.4 per cent – to 1.48 million last month.
