The number of jobless people in Leicestershire looking for work has fallen below 12,000 for the first time in almost seven years.
The decline is a further sign of the strengthening county economy, with thousands of jobs having been created in the past 12 months.
Official figures released today showed the number of Jobseekers' Allowance claimants in the county dropped by 336 to 11,987 last month. The last time it fell below 12,000 was in December 2007.
The claimant count has now more than halved since hitting a peak of 25,257 in August 2009.
In August this year, a survey by the Royal Bank of Scotland found Leicestershire and Rutland was the 12th fastest-growing economy out of 99 local areas in England.