Published at 10:31, Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Unemployment in Cumbria rose sharply in January, ending a run of five consecutive monthly falls.

Official figures show there were 8,982 people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, 544 more than in December.

The county’s unemployment rate jumped from 2.7 per cent to 2.9.

Allerdale’s jobless total increased by 131 to 2,032, giving the borough an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent.

Carlisle’s climbed 155 to 2,223 (3.2 per cent), Copeland’s by 76 to 1,576 (3.5 per cent), Eden’s by 30 to 408 (1.3 per cent), Barrow’s by 82 to 1,843 (4.2 per cent) and South Lakeland’s by 70 to 900 (1.4 per cent).

There is always a sharp rise in unemployment in January following a shake out of seasonal jobs in food production and retailing after Christmas.

Wages, meanwhile, continue to lag behind inflation.

Average earnings increased by 1.4 per cent in the year to December, well below CPI inflation at 2.7 per cent.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk