2:00pm Thursday 18th March 2010
By Andy Tate, Parliamentary Correspondent
The dole queues in Sussex were stretched even longer last month, with 121 more people claiming jobless benefits than under the previous count.
Official figures showed that 33,197 people in the county claimed Jobseeker's Allowance in February - up 0.3% on January. Areas recording rises in claimants included Adur, Crawley, Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Mid-Sussex and Wealden.
However, several parts of Sussex are faring better as the country emerges from recession.
Brighton and Hove recorded a drop in claimants, from 7,817 to 7,759, while Arun, Chichester, Horsham, Rother and Worthing also recorded falls.
The Office for National Statistics data showed the number of people claiming JSA across the country fell by 32,300 during the month, while the International Labour Organisation's measure of unemployment - which includes students looking for work - fell 33,000 on the quarter to 2.45 million - the largest fall in unemployment for two and a half years.
However, the Government warned that further increases in unemployment were expected before the summer, before further falls in the second half of the year.
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