Jobcentres in Sussex are to be expanded amid "unprecedented" demand as people struggle to find work during the recession.

Figures show that nine Jobcentres in the county have been earmarked for renovations to increase office space - even though nine other offices have been closed in the past four years.

The sites in line for expansion to meet new "capacity pressures" are in Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Newhaven, Haywards Heath, Crawley, Hastings, Chichester and Bognor.

The conversions or extensions are deemed necessary to accommodate the recent growth in the numbers of people coming to the centres for jobs advice and benefits - despite figures last month showing a fall in Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in Sussex.

The Conservative Party, which obtained the figures through Parliamentary questions, pointed out that nine Jobcentres had been closed in Sussex since 2005, including three in Brighton and Hove and others in Crawley, Gatwick, Worthing, Bognor, Eastbourne and Chichester.

Two of these - Crawley and Gatwick - were shut down as recently as 2007.

The Tories said nationally that 385 out of 741 Jobcentre offices required some form of work to meet new capacity pressures, while more than half of these (245) were in areas where Jobcentre offices had closed in recent years.

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Theresa May said: "The public are paying the price for Labour's complacent and reckless attitude to tackling unemployment during this recession. Millions of jobseekers will have to put up with overcrowded Jobcentres whilst the Government sorts out another mess it has created. The public deserve better."

The Department for Work and Pensions said the closures had been in the pipeline for some time and stemmed from a move several years ago to merge the Benefits Agency and Employment Service, whose offices were often duplicating work. The planned expansions reflected the recent rise in demand for Jobcentre services.

Mel Groves, acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, said: "In the light of the unprecedented customer demand we have secured the required funding to convert or extend our existing buildings where necessary.

"In addition, we aim to make our services accessible to customers by providing a range of support through outreach facilities, often delivering advisory and other support on partners' premises.

"We are supplementing these measures by operating extended opening hours in some locations where the need for this is identified locally. This includes some offices opening to the public on Saturday. We will therefore only acquire new space where all other measures are insufficient."

Last month, figures showed the number of people on out-of-work benefits was falling in every part of Sussex. Statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions showed 30,448 people in the county claimed Jobseeker's Allowance in June - down by 1,110 (3.5%) on the previous month.

The latest figures for benefit claimants, covering the month of July, are due to be published today.