THE jobless total in the St Albans district continues to rise. The latest claimant-count figures for February show a total of 1,521 out of work and claiming benefit. This is 281 higher than in January and 861 more than this time last year – a year-on-year

THE jobless total in the St Albans district continues to rise. The latest claimant-count figures for February show a total of 1,521 out of work and claiming benefit.

This is 281 higher than in January and 861 more than this time last year - a year-on-year increase of 130 per cent.

Again there were more men without a job with 1,112 (February 2008, 454) claiming benefit compared to 409 women (February 2008, 206).

Though Jobcentre Plus unfilled vacancies rose slightly to 262 from last month's 252, this compares to last February's figure of 853.