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Unemployment in the South West fell 0.5% between October and December compared to the previous quarter, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.
Some 165,000 people across the region were out of work in the last quarter, a rate of 6.1%, down 13,000 from the period July to September 2011.
The fall leaves South West unemployment at the same level as the previous year, reversing the rise in the first half of 2011.
Nationally though, the unemployment rate was 8.4% of the economically active population, up 0.1%. There were 2.67m unemployed people, up 48,000 on the quarter, the highest figure since 1995.
The number of young people without a job rose 22,000 to 1.04m, taking the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds to 22.2%.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in January increased by 6,900 to 1.6m, while the number of job vacancies rose to 476,000 in the three months to January.
The ONS data also showed that average earnings increased by 2% in the year to December, unchanged from the previous month. That figure lags well below the rate of inflation and indicates a continued squeeze on spending power.
Institute of Directors South West chairman Gerry Jones said: “There’s something for everyone in these figures. For optimists, employment rose by almost 60,000 and the number of people on Jobseekers Allowance rose by only 6,900.
“For the pessimists, the Labour Force Survey measure of unemployment rose by 48,000 and shows no sign of reversing given the outlook for GDP growth.
“Pessimists might also point out that while employment rose by 60,000, there was a wide gap between full-time (down 26,000) and part- time (up 90,000) performance. The labour market isn’t signalling recession but it’s hardly suggesting recovery either.”
