THE number of unemployed people in Worcester has more than doubled in a year, latest statistics show.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest figures reveal the number of unemployed people in the Worcester constituency in December was at 3,655.

This is no change from the November number, and is a drop from the 3,835 claimants of three months earlier in August.

But a further comparison to a year earlier, in December 2019, shows the rise of unemployed people during the coronavirus pandemic.

In that December there was 1,665 claimants, so a year on there are now an additional 1,990 claimants.

The ONS data shows a similar picture for the constituency of Mid-Worcestershire, which includes Droitwich and Evesham residents.

There in December 2,810 residents were unemployed, compared to the 1,080 unemployed in December 2019.

And in the West Worcestershire constituency, which includes Malvern, there were 2,465 unemployed residents in December in comparison to the 975 of December 2019.

Nationally the unemployment rate soared to its highest level for more than four years as official figures showed more than 200,000 workers lost their jobs in the three months to November.

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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the unemployment rate reached five per cent in the quarter for the first time since early 2016, with the second lockdown ripping through the UK jobs market.

As the number of unemployed rose to a five-year high of 1.72 million, redundancies also surged to a new record and the growth in vacancies halved as the second wave of the pandemic struck. Analysts said the government’s move to extend the furlough scheme to April has helped cushion the blow, with tax data showing employees on company payrolls rose by 52,000 between November and December.