A RECORD number of people returned to work last month as the economy recovered.

Official figures show that Britain saw a record 356,000 increase in the number of workers on payrolls, while in York, there was a fall in the number of people claiming Universal Credit to help support living costs.

In June, there were 13,010 claimants in the city, down from 13,141 in May and 13,235 in December. This figure includes those on low incomes and those not looking for work.

In Selby those figures were 5,572, down from 5,597 while Ryedale had 3,586 claimants, down 60 from 3,646 in May and in Harrogate there were 10,028 down from 10,063.

A York Jobcentre Plus spokeswoman said: "The figures are going in the right direction, albeit slowly. People will be coming back off furlough or businesses will be employing more staff as they get more people in venues.

"We have been working a lot with hotels, for example the DoubleTree Hilton, and putting training on in preparation for when things open up."

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said payroll figures rose for the seventh month in a row between May and June, while firms hired at a blistering pace after indoor hospitality reopened ahead of the final lifting of restrictions on July 19.

The increase in payrolled workers was the biggest since those records began in 2014.