Region’s unemployment rate highest in the UK
THE number of people out of work in the Tees Valley has increased by more than 300.
Unemployment rose by 317 between May and July to 15,676 - with jobless figures up almost 900 compared to the same period last year.
Across Teesside, unemployment rates are: Darlington 1,856 (3.1%), Hartlepool 2,565 (4.6%), Middlesbrough 4,252 (4.9%), Redcar and Cleveland 3,216 (3.8%), and Stockton 3,787 (3.2%).
In the North-east unemployment rose by 13,000 to 91,000 giving the region the highest jobless rate in the UK at 7.3%.
The gloomy picture was reflected nationally as figures jumped by 60,000 and the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased at the highest monthly rate for more than 15 years.
Unemployment grew to 1.67 million in the three months to June, the worst for more than a year, giving a new unemployment rate of 5.4%, up by 0.2% on the previous quarter.
Total unemployment, including people not eligible for benefit, is 15,000 higher than a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.
There was a double dose of grim news as Bank of England Governor Mervyn King unveiled the bank’s quarterly inflation report and refused to rule out the possibility of the UK facing recession.
The report said with no rate cuts in the next two years, inflation would most likely peak at just below 5% in the coming months before falling sharply next year and dipping below the official 2% target in two years’ time.
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