JOBLESS figures in St Albans have nearly doubled compared to the same time last year. The number of people claiming Jobseeker s Allowance in the district rose to nearly 1,000 in January – amounting to 1.8 per cent of the area s working population. Out of

JOBLESS figures in St Albans have nearly doubled compared to the same time last year.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the district rose to nearly 1,000 in January - amounting to 1.8 per cent of the area's working population.

Out of the 993 people unemployed, 721 are men and 272 are women.

In the same month last year, there were just over 500 people claiming unemployment benefits, representing 0.9 per cent of the working population.

But the figures still compare relatively well to the general picture in the UK as a whole where 3.4 per cent of the working population are currently unemployed.

LibDem Parliamentary candidate for St Albans, Sandy Walkington, said: "The latest Jobseeker Allowance claimant count for St Albans is truly sobering. The percentage of resident working-age people claiming the benefit has literally doubled in a year."

He added: "Every single claimant is a personal tragedy. And the figure of course under-represents the true jobless situation since many newly-unemployed people do not qualify for Jobseekers Allowance and others choose not to claim.