The number of workers on company payrolls in Fife has continued to increase, new figures show.

UK unemployment has dropped to its lowest figure in 50 years, according to official data from the Office for National Statistics, though soaring prices are still hitting the pockets of people across the nation as earnings fail to keep up with inflation.

In the Clackmannanshire and Fife region, which covers two local authorities, 179,193 people were in payrolled employment in March, ONS figures show.

This was up from 178,981 the month before and from 172,906 in March 2021.

At the start of the pandemic, 178,425 people were in payrolled jobs in the area.

Separate ONS figures also show there has been a fall in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the Fife local authority area over the last year.

Around 9,550 people were on out-of-work benefits as of March 10, down by 5,250 from 14,800 at the same point the year before.

It meant 4.1 per cent of the area's working population sought support in March.

The figures include those aged 16 to 64 on Jobseeker’s Allowance and some Universal Credit claimants, who are unemployed and seeking work or employed but with low earnings.