THE number of out of work Worcester residents has risen for the third straight month.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday (Wednesday) show 1,909 people were claiming Jobseekers' Allowance in February.

The figure is up by 94 on January which itself was up 82 on December's figure.

It means 2.9 per cent of Worcester's working age population is claiming the benefit, which is below the West Midlands figure (3.7 per cent) and the national figure (three per cent).

Prior to last December, the number of Jobseekers' Allowance claimants in Worcester had dipped to its lowest level since November 2008.

"We have seen since the turn of the year that there has been a big upturn on the temporary side of things," said Ben Mannion, strategic development director at Hewett Recruitment, based on Foregate Street in Worcester.

"We feel that bodes well as it means manufacturing industries here have full order books.

"On the permanent side of things, there has been a high uptake in engineering roles."

Of the Worcester unemployment figure, 1,311 claimants were men, with 598 women.

In Worcestershire as a whole, 7,932 people were claiming Jobseekers' Allowance last month, down slightly from 8,017 in January.

Nationally, the number of people out of work in the UK has fallen by 63,000 to 2.33 million.

The unemployment rate now stands at 7.2 per cent of the working age population.