The number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in the town rose by 2.3 per cent in the last 12 months to 3,981.

In the Easington area, it rose by 1.9 per cent to 3,092, in Sedgefield it rose by two per cent to 2,947 and in Stockton, which covers Billingham, it rose by two per cent to 6,700.

Hartlepool, at 7.1 per cent, has the eighth highest percentage of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the country, with Middlesbrough at 7.6 per cent in joint fifth and South Tyneside at 6.8 in joint 10th.



It comes as unemployment in North East England rose by 22,000 in the last year to 119,000, or 9.5 per cent of the population.

The national figure is 2.46m, which is 7.8 per cent of the population.
Hartlepool Mayor Stuart Drummond said he is not surprised by the statistics, but said the council will do all it can to help people affected by the recession.

He added: "When the credit crunch started it was said it would hit the North East later and we would get the aftershock, and even when we officially come out of recession we would feel it in the region for a long time afterwards.

"As a council we will continue to do anything we can to try and get people into work, whether that's through starting their own businesses or training. Whatever it may be, we are continuing to do that."

The council has already launched a £3.25m scheme to get 720 people into work after winning backing from the Government's Future Jobs Fund.

The scheme has been praised by two nursery nurses who have already landed "perfect jobs" after being out of work for months, as reported by the Mail yesterday.

Lauren Sharp and Viki Harris are among the first to benefit from the project after they started to work as nursery nurses at Manor Residents' Association, in Kilmarnock Road, last Thursday.

During the next 18 months the fund will be used to help create the jobs through a partnership of public, private and voluntary sector employers, led by Hartlepool Borough Council.

Vacancies include jobs in administration, customer services, youth work, recycling, painting and decorating and security.

For more information about the scheme call Kim Williams at the council on (01429) 284482.