DAVID Cameron's Witney constituency has one of the lowest rates in the country of people claiming unemployment benefit, MPs were told.

But according to local business leaders, the high employment rate means companies are struggling to recruit staff.

Three of Oxfordshire's six Parliamentary constituencies - Witney, Wantage, and Henley - were named in the 20 areas of Britain with the lowest numbers claiming Jobseekers' Allowance.

And during the ten years of Tony Blair's Government, Oxfordshire's so-called claimant count has dropped by almost half.

Witney businessman Barry Wheatley said: "The reason unemployment has gone down is because the economy in Oxfordshire is very vibrant, which means that there's lots of jobs.

"It's also quite an expensive place to live, so people cannot migrate here so easily. There is also an ageing population."

Statistics given to MPs showed 4,417 men and women claimed Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA) this March. Since then, the figure has fallen four per cent to 4,245 in April.

Witney has the fifth lowest claimant count in the UK, with 456. Henley, with 411, comes in eighth and Wantage, with 525, in 16th place.

Oxford West and Abingdon is not far behind, with 597 claimants (down from 640). Banbury recorded 936 jobless claimants (down from 1,027).

The only constituency with more than 1,000 claimants in March was Oxford East, with 1,492.

*** However staff at a Witney entertainment and leisure products retailer are set to lose their jobs after the company went into administration.

The 37 workers at Dream Direct, based in Station Lane, were given the news before an announcement was made to the Stock Exchange on Thursday. Administrators Deloitte's Reorganisation Services said certain assets of the group had been sold to another company, Express Gifts, on behalf of The Webb Group.