OXFORDSHIRE bucked the national upward trend in unemployment, with the number of people claiming jobseekers' allowance virtually unchanged.

The claimant count for May was 3,813, with seven fewer people registering as unemployed, compared with last month.

The figure was also down on last year, with 250 fewer claimants, said the Office for National Statistics.

This contrasts with a national increase last month by 9,000 to 819,300.