UNEMPLOYMENT has increased across the North-East, but parts of the region are getting more people into jobs, it has been claimed.

New figures show about 97,000 people were out of work between March and May, giving an unemployment rate of 7.7 per cent.

The number, despite being a fall of 29,000 over the year, was higher than the 7.4 per cent recorded from February to April, and means the region still has the UK’s highest jobless numbers.

The national unemployment rate stands at 5.6 per cent, with the South-East’s 4.4 per cent the best in the country.

However, the JobCentre says pockets of the region are reducing employment, as companies create more jobs.

Julia Hume, customer service operations manager, told The Northern Echo Durham’s unemployment numbers fell by 2,326 year-on-year, with Stockton’s dropping by 1,395, and Darlington’s by 593.

She added: “We are doing all we can to prepare people to move into work as quickly as possible.”

According to the figures, revealed by the Office for National Statistics, 1,171 million people were employed in the North-East between March and May, which was slightly down on the 1,186 million recorded from February to April.

The claimant count stood at 47,400, or 3.9 per cent, compared to the UK average of 2.3 per cent.

Despite the disappointing nature of the figures, Jonathan Walker, North East Chamber of Commerce’s head of policy, said there were positives to take.

He added: “The fall in employment numbers is surprising given the results we’ve seen from our Quarterly Economic Survey, where the workforce score was at a higher point than at any point since 1995.

“The figures are hopefully just a blip, yet they reflect the challenge the North-East faces in ensuring the private sector is able to compensate for the significant number of people leaving the public sector.”

Nationally, unemployment was up for the first time in more than two years, with jobless numbers increasing by 15,000 to 1.85 million in the three months to May, the ONS said.

Nick Palmer, ONS statistician, added: “It’s possible the rate of improvement in the labour market that we have seen over the last three years may have eased off, though it is too early to be certain.”

The figures also showed pay rises continued to accelerate, with average weekly earnings up by 3.2 per cent year-on-year in the three months to May, up from 2.7 per cent in the three months to April.