UNEMPLOYMENT in the district has leapt again after a couple of months of decline. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits last month hit 1,728 – that s an increase of over 975 compared to the same time last year. And of that number, just over

UNEMPLOYMENT in the district has leapt again after a couple of months of decline.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits last month hit 1,728 - that's an increase of over 975 compared to the same time last year.

And of that number, just over 70 per cent are men.

There were just 374 job vacancies, compared to 582 the same time last year.

Jobless figures in the district have been rising steadily since the onset of the recession and hit 1,707 in April before starting to marginally decrease during the months of May and June, when there were 1,696 and 1,666 people out of work respectively.

The total unemployment in Herts is 19,631 and St Albans, along with East Herts, are the least affected districts with 0.9 per cent of the population out of work.

The worst affected area is neighbouring Dacorum with 1.6 per cent.

Cllr Melvyn Teare, portfolio holder for culture and heritage, said that the increase in employment during May and June was probably due to seasonal posts opening up.

He said he was yet to see any "green shoots" of recovery in the area and believes the unemployment situation is unlikely to start improving again until Christmas time.