Jobless total soars by 11,000

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said a total of 240,000 people were unemployed in the region between October and December.

Across the UK, 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 also increased to 1.64 million in January, the worst figure since April 1997.

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.

Total unemployment in the latest quarter fell by 3,000 to 2.46 million, giving a jobless rate of 7.8 per cent, unchanged from the previous three months.

In Yorkshire and Humberside, the unemployment rate was 9.1 per cent, one of the highest in the UK behind the West Midlands at 9.4 per cent and the North East at 9.3 per cent. London had 9.1 per cent of its regional population out of employment.

Other data from the ONS showed that the number of workers fell by 12,000 to just under 29 million. The number of full-time workers dropped by 37,000, although the number of part-time workers increased by 25,000.

The number of people classed as "economically inactive" - students, people looking after a sick relative, or those who have given up looking for work - reached a record high of 8.08 million, more than 21 per cent of the working-age population.

The number of unemployed 18-to 24-year-olds nationwide fell by 13,000 to 725,000 in the last three months of 2009, while for 16 to 24-year-olds the total dropped by 13,000 to 923,000.

More women are now unemployed, with their numbers rising by 18,000 to 959,000, the biggest quarterly rise since last summer.