THE dole queue is growing in North and East Yorkshire, according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics.

Although nationally unemployment has fallen and the total number of people without work is below the national average in York, Selby, Ryedale and East Yorkshire, the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance has risen.

In York, the dole queue rose to 2,183 from 2,127 and now stands at 1.6 per cent of the workforce.

In Selby it rose to 1,108 or 2.5 per cent from 1,060 and in East Yorkshire, it rose from 5,288 to 5,416, or 3.5 per cent. None of the figures is seasonally adjusted.

In Ryedale, the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance is 547 or 2.3 per cent.

Nationally, the overall unemployment rate which includes people not receiving or not eligible for Jobseekers Allowance is 7.2 per cent, down 0.4 per cent and the national figure for people claiming Jobseekers Allowance is 3.6 per cent, down 0.1 per cent.

City of York Council leader James Alexander said : “This is expected at this time of year due to seasonal fluctuations over the festive period.

“The city received positive figures today from the DWP showing that as of August 2013, York has the lowest number of benefits claimants on record, both overall and with regards to out of work benefits claimants - encouraging news which shows the council’s work with partners is paying off.

"However, today’s results show we cannot rest on our laurels and we need to ensure continued investment in the economy from the council to support residents and strive for jobs and growth.”

The total number of all people of working age without work who were available for work was 5.2 per cent for York and Selby, 4.3 per cent for Ryedale and 6.4 per cent for East Yorkshire according to the latest regional figures which go up to September 2013.

They include people who are not receiving or are not eligible for Jobseekers Allowance.

Yorkshire and the Humber TUC warned that unemployment in the region among women had gone up by 4,000 although among men it had gone down by 12,000.

Bill Adams, TUC regional secretary, said: "What type of recovery is it that not only sees more women in our region losing their jobs, but sees prices rising as fast as wages for those in work?”