Unemployment has increased in Bristol during Labour's first year in office - but has dropped in most of the surrounding areas outside the city limits.
In contrast to gloomy national projections, which show the UK unemployment rate at a four-year high, most parliamentary constituencies have seen falling numbers of people receiving unemployment benefits.
As of July, 1.71 million were unemployed and claiming benefits. That's 6,200 fewer than in June, and 71,500 fewer than in July 2024, when Labour took office.
However, it is still 465,500 more people on unemployment benefits than in March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the UK labour market.
The figures - which use claimant counts to measure unemployment in local areas - show that in the combined constituencies covering Bristol and the surrounding areas of North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, unemployment has remained stable, overall. About 21,290 people were unemployed as of July, the same number as in July 2024.
However, unemployment has increased in nearly all constituencies within the city.
Bristol Central saw the biggest rise in unemployment benefits claims, of 5.2% to 2,110, an increase of 105 claimants. That was followed by Thornbury and Yate in South Gloucestershire, which saw a 4.2% rise in unemployment.
Unemployment also increased by 3.4% in Bristol North West, by 3.3% in Bristol North East, and only slightly, by 0.4%, in Bristol South. Of Bristol's parliamentary constituencies, only Bristol East saw no increase in unemployment, remaining stable with 3,625 people claiming unemployment benefits.
However, Bristol East has the highest unemployment rate in our area. As of July, some 4.8% of the population were claiming benefits. That means about one in 21 people are unemployed.
Outside the city limits most areas saw a drop in unemployment and the biggest decrease was in Wells and Mendip Hills, where it fell by 10.5%, followed by North Somerset (-8.5%) and Weston-super-Mare (-5.2%).
See how it compares to where you live using our interactive map.
The figures were revealed after Labour marked a full year in government. Chancellor Rachel Reeves conceded that the government had "more to do" on unemployment. Separate UK-wide figures showed the unemployment rate stuck at a four-year high of 4.7%.
This is measured using surveys to include everyone looking for and available for work, whether they are claiming benefits or not, which is the international measure of unemployment, as defined by the International Labour Organisation.
However, this method is not reliable for assessing unemployment at a local level because of the small number of survey respondents in each area.
A more effective method of measuring unemployment locally is using claimant count figures, the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance plus people claiming Universal Credit with a requirement to seek work.
They show how many people are looking for work and claiming benefits in each parliamentary constituency.
The UK unemployment benefits claimant rate is lower than the unemployment rate. It was 4.2% when Labour took office in July 2024, but now stands at 4.0%.
While it is not reliable for measuring long-term trends in unemployment because it can be affected by changes to benefit rules, claimant counts are the most effective way to measure unemployment locally.
In November, the government published the Get Britain Working White Paper, an ambitious roadmap to achieving an 80% employment rate.