Warning signs on Winchester unemployment

2.41.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 22nd Oct 2008

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Winchester, Martin Tod, has expressed concern at the increase in Winchester's unemployment rate following 6 months of increasing unemployment in the Winchester District.

"Unemployment in Winchester is still well below the national average, but it's increasing. A third more people were looking for work in September than a year ago."

"The number of jobs available is also falling."

"The credit crunch is not just about mortgages and banks; general worry about the economy is feeding through to jobs."

"What Britain needs now, and urgently, is action to help the real economy - interest rate cuts to support business - tax cuts to put money in the pockets of people on low and middle incomes - action to cut energy bills - and support to help people keep their homes."

The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance is 651, 176 more than a year ago. Winchester has a 1.0% unemployed claimant rate. The County Average is 1.3% and the national average is 1.7%.

The number of vacancies in local job centres also fell - down 146 vs. September 2007 to 673.

National ILO unemployment numbers (the Government's preferred measure) rose 164,000 on the quarter to 1.79 million, the largest rise in 17 years. The rate increased by 0.2 points to 5.7%. The national employment rate stood at 74.4%, down 0.4 percentage points on the previous quarter.