Labour faces uphill battle in region as more job go

LABOUR is bracing itself to defend marginal Yorkshire seats at the General Election against a backdrop of rising unemployment after the region's jobless tally rose – bucking the national trend.

Ministers have warned of further increases in the coming months after unemployment in Yorkshire and the Humber increased by 11,000 in the last quarter of 2009 to hit 240,000. The national jobless total dropped by 3,000 to 2.46 million.

In a further sign of gloom, the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits has now passed 1997 levels in Leeds, Craven, Kirklees, Calderdale, Hull and North Lincolnshire as the dole queue has more than doubled in just two years.

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Nationally, despite the slight overall fall in unemployment, the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance – known as the claimant count – and the number of people out of work for more than a year both rose to levels not seen since Labour came to power.

Large numbers of job losses in manufacturing and financial services have left Yorkshire and the Humber – along with Scotland – the hardest hit on the jobs front over the past year.

With the General Election campaign likely to start in April and the economic recovery painfully slow, Ministers admit there is unlikely to be any significant improvement before polling day, although they insist there are growing numbers of job vacancies.

Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper, MP for Pontefract and Castleford, said: "We know things are going to be tough for a while and we expect further increases in unemployment before the summer. That's why it's so important to increase help for people now, not cut it back."

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Yesterday's figures revealed the claimant count hit 163,698 in Yorkshire and the Humber in January, up from 79,148 two years ago and approaching levels last seen 13 years ago. In Leeds there are more than 25,000 people claiming benefits, and more than 16,000 in both Bradford and Sheffield.

The national claimant count rose by 23,500 to reach 1.64 million.

Yorkshire & Humber Chambers of Commerce president Richard Wightman called for the Government to support businesses.