UNEMPLOYMENT in the North-East is higher than any other region in the country, reaching levels not seen for nearly a decade, figures showed yesterday.

The figures do not include thousands more jobs lost in the past two months.

However, one business commentator said the North- East’s diverse economy could reduce the impact of the economic downturn.

The UK jobless rate climbed to 6.1 per cent, equivalent to 1.92 million people, during the three months to November.

The number claiming jobseeker’s allowance is 1.16 million.

In the North-East, the jobless total increased by 8,000 to 104,000 – a rate of 8.2 per cent.

It is the highest rate since October 2000.

The number of people looking for work in Yorkshire climbed by 14,000 to 177,000 – a 6.8 per cent rise.

Employment Minister Tony McNulty said the figures were “very disappointing” and predicted they would “get worse before they get better”.

Middlesbrough has the highest percentage of jobseekers in the region. Sedgefield and Easington, in County Durham, have seen the largest increase of jobseekers.

Yesterday’s data showed that 225,000 people in the UK became redundant in the quarter up to November.

Manufacturing jobs continued to be lost and fell to their lowest level since records began in 1978. Unemployment among young workers rose to its highest level since 1995.

Because the figures only relate to September to November, they are expected to get worse.

Since then, several firms in the region have announced cuts totalling more than 2,500 jobs. They include Nissan, Unipress, Newcastle Building Society and Malton Bacon Factory.

Jobs are also threatened at DHL, in Darlington, and Invista, in Wilton, Teesside.

Thousands more people were employed at Woolworths, which closed this month, and a number of other troubled national companies.

Sarah Green, director of the Confederation of British Industry North-East, said: “These numbers are as bad as we expected and are sadly going to get worse. The combination of falling demand and global credit constraints is pushing unemployment sharply higher.”

Theresa May, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “The rising tide of unemployment is devastating confirmation of growing job losses in the North-East, which now has the highest unemployment rate in the country.”

However, Tony Cleaver, a senior teaching fellow in economics at Durham University’s Business School, said: “For the North-East, the region has diversified and many more light manufacturing and service sector jobs have been created since the times when the region was dependent on the key heavy industries of coal, shipbuilding and railways.”

Ian Williams, director of business and industry at regional development agency One North-East, said it had invested £22m to support firms through a range of measures.

He said: “The region’s economy is still far stronger than it was in previous downturns.”

Thea Stein, director of economic inclusion at regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, said: “Yorkshire Forward can’t create jobs in the region overnight but we are continuing to work closely with our skills partners, businesses and potential investors to help businesses.”