THE number of people out of work in York and North and East Yorkshire has risen by more than 1,000.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that in January there were 1,201 more people out of work in York, Selby, North and East Yorkshire in January than in December.

The statistics show the number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) across North Yorkshire has also risen from 9,000 in December to 9,682 this month, a rise of 682.

In East Yorkshire there were 210 more people out of work month on month with 6,629 in January compared with 6,419 in December and in Selby the number of people out of work has risen by 138 from 1,467 to 1,605.

In York the figures rose from 3,354 in December to 3,525 in January, as many seasonal Christmas jobs came to an end.

January saw the number of JSA claimants rise by 171, last year the figures rose by 236 during the same period.

The percentage of the working age population claiming JSA now stands at 2.6 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent in December.

Regionally the percentage rose from 4.1 per cent to 4.4 per cent, while nationally the figure rose from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent.

The Liberal Democrat Leader of City of York Council, Coun Andrew Waller, said: “We expect a seasonal increase, and this year’s increase is less than in 2010. This does show the importance of the Jobs Fighting Fund included in the Lib Dem Budget and making sure that the funding that the council provides to organisations and partners is put to full use to stimulate employment.”

Coun Waller said that in addition bringing back the Barbican will deliver 70 new jobs.

He said: “There was a very successful event at York College on Monday linking local businesses to the development of the new council headquarters building to bring maximum jobs benefit to the city.

“Regional and national figures showed bigger increases in January, meaning York continues to outperform regional and national trends.”