UNEMPLOYMENT fell across Merseyside for the first time in 15 months in September – raising hopes that large-scale job cuts might be coming to an end.

Figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed the number of claimants fell by 802 last month, to 57,844.

The fall was seen in all six authorities in Liverpool city region, led by Wirral, where unemployment dropped 2.5%.

It ends a run of rising worklessness in the region, which saw 22,127 people start claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance since July last year – a 62% increase.

The rising trend in unemployment has been slowing in recent months across the region.

In the first three months of 2009, the claimant count climbed by 8,857, the second quarter showed a rise of 2,446, while the third quarter saw an increase of just 463.

Economist Peter Stoney, an honorary senior fellow at Liverpool University’s management school and director of the Liverpool Research Group in Macroeconomics, argued while “the worst is over”, further rises may still happen.

He said: “There is bound to be a bit of seasonality in the drop and we need to watch another month or two’s figures. The claimant count for unemployment is turning out to be not so high as forecast previously. Merseyside is looking likely to remain below 60,000.

“There are several reasons to be optimistic for Merseyside once the global recession recedes next year, despite the possibility of cutbacks in its large public sector due to government budget constraints.

“There are ambitious plans afoot to exploit the sub-region’s biggest natural asset – its port.

“Cruise liners have started to reappear regularly and freight trade can be expected to grow, too.

“Liverpool city centre has seen a total transformation in the last 12 months.

“There is a burgeoning business tourism sector, with new hotels supporting – among many other attractions – the highly visible and effective Echo Arena and BT convention centre.”