Massive increase in unemployment

Unemployment in Rochdale rose by more than 500 last month to 5,250 as the economic crisis gripping the country deepened.

There are 4,009 jobless men, a rise of 474 in a month, and 1,241 unemployed women, up 105 to a total of 5,250.

This represents 4.1% of Rochdale’s working population, comparing poorly with the national average of 3.1 per cent and the regional average of 3.5 per cent.

In Greater Manchester, only Manchester has a higher averages, with Oldham, Wigan and Salford slightly lower at 3.8%.

Nationally, a record number of people are being made redundant and job vacancies are falling, official figures show.

The jobless total increased by 131,000 in the three months to November, to 1.92 million, the highest figure for more than a decade.

The UK now has an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent and the two million barrier is set to be breached next month following a spate of job cuts since the start of the year.

The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance increased last month by 77,900 to 1.16 million, the worst figure since 2000.

The monthly benefit claimant increase was the second highest since 1991 and the claimant count has now increased for 11 months in a row, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The figures shows that 225,000 people became redundant in the quarter to November, up by 78,000 on the previous three months and the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.

The number of people in work fell by 26,000 in the latest period to 29.39 million, giving an employment rate of 74.2 per cent, down by 0.2 per cent.

The number of job vacancies fell by 69,000 in the last three months of 2008 to 530,000, the lowest figure since records began in 2001.

Manufacturing jobs continued to be lost, down by 86,000 to 2.82 million in the quarter to November.