New figures have revealed which areas of Cumbria are growing fastest.

Research from the NatWest Regional Economic Tracker shows stark variations in job growth levels in Cumbrian regions.

In the third quarter of 2015 Allerdale experienced the best job growth in the county.

It saw job growth levels increase by 13 per cent, making it one of the top three performing areas in the North West.

South Lakeland also saw strong job growth with a rate of 10 per cent and Carlisle saw growth of five percent, well above the national average.

However, in Barrow-in-Furness the story is less rosy, with job growth stooping to minus four per cent representing a reduction in the number of jobs available.

Copeland also saw a drop of minus three per cent while Eden’s job growth reached just one per cent, considerably less than the North West average of 2.7 per cent.

Across the UK, the rate of job growth was 1.9 per cent.

The Regional Economic Tracker monitors employment levels across the UK showing where the fastest job growth has occurred on a quarterly basis.

According to the new research, the region as a whole saw an increase of over 100,000 jobs since the beginning of the recession.

Senior economist at NatWest, Sebastian Burnside, said: “The North West has been climbing the job growth leader board recently and now sits in third place at 2.7% in the year to Q3 2015.

“That comfortably beats the UK wide figure of 1.9 per cent and helps compensate for a relatively weak 2014.“

Across the 12 regions in the UK, the North West came third in terms of job growth to the South West and Yorkshire and The Humber.

The other two districts in the top three were the Ribble Valley where the rate increased by 21 per cent and Pendle which marked an increase of 18 per cent.