THE numbers of unemployed people in the News Shopper area have increased, according to new figures.

Last month’s unemployment numbers from the Office for National Statistics, released today (February 17), show there were 5,910 people in Bromley borough claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance.

The numbers of jobless in the borough had been steadily falling since last September but the latest figures reverse that trend.

It means 3.2 per cent of people in the borough are unemployed compared to the 3.1 per cent, or 5,770 people, recorded in December.

The numbers of unemployed in Lewisham borough has also spiked. According to the figures, 9,342 people were claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance last month, or 5.2 per cent of the borough’s population. In November, that figure stood at 9,230 people and then fell to 9,066 in December.

In the Greenwich borough, 7,493 people were claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance - again 5.2 per cent of the borough’s population.

There were 7,132 unemployed people in December and, until this month, the numbers of unemployed had been decreasing in the borough month-on-month since last September.

The rising national trend was also reflected in Bexley borough where 3.6 per cent of the borough’s population, or 4,847 people, were out of work.

Figures for December show there were 4,654 men and women unemployed.

There was more bad news in Dartford where the numbers claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance rose to 2,154, compared to 1,957 people in December and 2,020 in November. It means 3.7 per cent of people in the area are unemployed.

And in Gravesham, the unemployment figures show 2,695 people are jobless - or 4.5 per cent of the area’s population. There were 2,528 people without a job in December.

Nationally, the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance soared by 23,500 last month to reach the highest level since Labour came to power in 1997.

The claimant count increased to 1.64 million in January, the worst figure since April 1997.

And long-term unemployment, covering those out of work for more than a year, increased by 37,000 in the quarter to December to 663,000, also the highest figure since 1997.