Chelmsford has been praised for its high economic activity after recent figures released by the Department of Work & Pensions reveals that the city has one of the lowest rates of people claiming out-of-work benefits in Essex.

The number of people claiming these benefits, such as Job Seekers Allowance, has dropped from 1,210 to 1,190 - meaning that only 1.1 per cent of people living in Chelmsford are claiming out-of-work benefits.

This rating is lower than both the national average, which is 1.9%, and the Essex average, which is 1.3%.

Essex areas generally had a low rate of out-of-work benefit claimants. It was only Southend that exceeded the national average, with 2.1% of people in the area on the claimant count.

A growing city, Chelmsford has been praised for its high employment figures.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “Chelmsford, in terms of economic activity, is ahead of any other place in Essex. If you look at the economic activity around the station and the town centre, it is thriving.

“If you are on the main railway line into London, then people will always look into living there.

“Our experience with Chelmsford is very positive; there is a very positive outlook in Chelmsford and we are looking to maintain that in the future.”

These figures are calculated depending on who lives in the city, rather than who works there. So many of the people in-work who live in Chelmsford will also work in London and other surrounding areas such as Basildon and Colchester.

However, Chelmsford did not have the lowest rate of out-of-work claimants. Brentwood came lowest with only 0.8% of people claiming these benefits.

The full list is: Brentwood – 0.8% Maldon – 0.9% Chelmsford – 1.1% Braintree – 1.1% Castle Point – 1.2% Colchester – 1.2% Epping Forest – 1.2% Basildon – 1.7% Harlow – 1.8% Thurrock – 1.9% Southend – 2.1%