Partner Article

North East jobless total falls

Unemployment in the North East has fallen by 5.5% in the past three months, bucking the nationwide trend, according to new figures.

The region’s jobless total now stands at 103,000 - down 6,000 from 109,000 the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate in the region - the only one in the UK to record a quarterly fall in unemployment - is now 8.3%.

Nationwide, unemployment has soared to a 12-year high of more than 2.2 million, rising by 232,000 in the three months to April.

Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Every single person being made redundant or having difficulty making ends meet should contact their council to make sure that they are getting all the advice, support and benefits they’re eligible for.

“From retraining and finding a new job to filling in housing benefits forms, town halls are there to help people through difficult times.

“Different parts of the country are facing very different levels and types of unemployment. Former industrial areas have been hit by blue collar unemployment, whilst white collar job losses are rising at a much quicker rate in London and the South East.”

John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “The numbers of jobless are continuing to rise and we’re clearly not through the worst yet. Sadly, the CBI expects these figures to continue to rise and peak at 3 million in the spring of 2010.

“Making job cuts is the last thing that businesses want to do, and the government must do everything it can to help firms keep people in their jobs, as well as giving advice, training and support to those who have become unemployed.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .