MORE than 300 people joined the dole queue in South Tyneside in just a month, latest figures have revealed.
The borough’s jobless total has jumped, despite a fall in both North East and UK unemployment rates.
Figures show the number of people in the borough claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) increased from 7,248 in December to 7,578 in January.
And South Tyneside’s jobless rate has also increased to 7.9 per cent of the working-age population, which remains well above the North East figure of 5.8 per cent.
Broken down, latest statistics reveal 5,108 men and 2,470 women are now claiming JSA in the borough.
There is growing concern about local youth unemployment and figures for jobseekers, aged 18 to 24, again showed a rise.
A total of 2,235 people in the youngest age group are now claiming benefit, compared with 2,145 the previous month. Of these, 1,320 young people have been jobless for up to six months, 365 for over six months and up to a year, and 545 unemployed for more than a year.
Coun Michael Clare, South Tyneside Council’s lead member for regeneration and economy, said: “The increase in unemployment across South Tyneside reflects the current hardship being experienced by the whole nation and isn’t exclusive to the North East.
“The rise in jobless numbers is normal for this time of year, as it is mainly due to the completion of temporary festive contracts.
“On a more positive note, it is the lowest such rise recorded over the last three years for 18-24 year-olds.
“As a local authority, we continue to develop new training and employment schemes, like our apprenticeship programme, and carry on attracting new investment to the borough.
“It will take time to chip away at the jobless figures, but with a highly- skilled workforce in the wings, we are optimistic the employment situation will turn a corner in the near future.”
North East unemployment stands at 125,000, a fall of more than 2,000 over the last quarter.
UK unemployment, meanwhile, has fallen to 1.54 million, with the national unemployment rate falling to 7.8 per cent.
But while the North East’s jobless rate has dropped, the number of people in work has also fallen to 1,172,000 over the last quarter.
Ross Smith, director of policy for the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), said: “These estimates show a surprising set of numbers, with a sudden reversal of the trend that had seen strong growth in employment and reduction in unemployment throughout 2012.
“However, the changes do not alter the fact that over the year, the North East fared significantly better than the UK as a whole, but this sudden swing in fortunes reported in the final month means the overall gap with UK rates once again widened.”
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