Unemployment in Hounslow has fallen for the fourth month running, to its lowest level since 2008, new figures suggest.

The number of residents in the borough claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) last month was 3,923, or 2.2 per cent of the working age population.

It's the first time the number of claimants has dipped below the 4,000 threshold since January 2009, and the lowest claimant rate since December 2008, when it was 2.1 per cent.

The claimant rate, which stands at three per cent nationally and 2.9 per cent across London, is not an official record of unemployment but is seen as a good guide to local employment rates.

In Hounslow, it has fallen from 2.9 per cent since March last year, when there 5,167 people across the borough were signing on.

The UK unemployment rate last week fell to 7.1 per cent, following the biggest quarterly drop since 1997. Official unemployment rates for that period are not yet available by local authority.

In Feltham & Heston, the latest claimant rate is 2.6 per cent, and in Brentford & Isleworth it is 2.1 per cent, according to figures published by Nomis, on behalf of the Office for National Statistics.

Brentford & Isleworth MP Mary Macleod said: "This is welcome news for hardworking people in west London and the country as a whole, and it shows that our economic plan is working.

"But even though there are now more people in work than ever before, I know some local people are finding it tough.

"I want to do more locally to help them, which is why together with West Thames College, I am organising the ‘Aspire Skills Show Experience’ in April this year.

"We've seen big falls in unemployment since we started these events and I know they have helped many local people find work, so I would ask anyone to get in touch if they want to find out more."

Feltham & Heston MP Seema Malhotra said: "The recent fall in local unemployment is welcome. The Government should use this opportunity to tackle the unacceptably high levels of long-term unemployment, which has increased by 66 per cent in Feltham and Heston over the last year.

"Labour would act to tackle the high levels of long-term unemployment with a compulsory jobs guarantee to get people back to work, helping around 240 people in our community."