The number of Fifers claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) is at a 20-year-low, according to new figures.
The Department of Work and Pensions has revealed 5904 people, or 2.5% of Fife’s working age population, are claiming JSA.
This is the lowest number of claimants since 1992, although the Fife figure is still slightly above the Scottish average.
Fife Council’s spokesperson for economy and planing, Councillor Lesley Laird, said: “It’s a great end to the year to see JSA numbers at a 20-year-low.
“Hopefully this trend will continue into 2015 and Fife can further close the gap to meet the Scottish average rate as there is now only a 0.2 percentage point difference.
“However, there is still a great deal to be done to improve employability and life chances for people in Fife.”
The council’s next step is to focus on educational, employment and other inequalities faced by some of the region’s communities in a bid to prevent people from having to claim JSA.
Councillor Tony Martin, chair of Opportunities Fife and Fife Council’s Youth Ambassador, added: “These figures are encouraging indeed.
“I am happy to see the number of young JSA claimants decrease once again this month.
“There were 1425 young claimants which is 3.4% of Fife’s 16-24 population.
“We must also work to bring this in line with the Scottish average.
“With the recent re-opening of Fife Council’s Skills Development Centre in Kirkcaldy as well as a range of other programmes and initiatives I am confident that we can build on the successes of Opportunities Fife Partnership over the past year into 2015.”