The dole queue in north-west Hampshire has dropped to its shortest for six years.

Figures released by the House of Commons library revealed that only 503 people in the entire constituency claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance in August 2014, compared to 1,339 at the same time five years ago.

That represents a 60 per cent drop in the number of unemployed people in the region, which stretches from Andover to Tadley.

Youth unemployment has fallen even further, with just 105 people under the age of 24 claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in August – a 72 per cent reduction from August 2009.

Kit Malthouse, Conservative candidate for North West Hampshire said: “This is really encouraging news. North West Hampshire has amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country.

“It is a very hard-working and pro d u c t ive part of England, but we can’t rest on our laurels – there is still work to do to help our businesses grow and prosper.

“We also have to improve our skills so that we can raise average wage rates across the board.

“Making it a priority to get the economy back on track has certainly paid off for Andover and the rest of the constituency, and I hope we will see these numbers fall even further.”