Unemployment has risen in the North East, bringing to an end a run of four successive reductions in the number of people out of work.
The regional rate of 5.2% is the highest in the country and well above the national average of 3.8%, though the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the region fell slightly to 72,210. Employment in the North East stands at 1.2m, an increase of 5,000 over the past year.
Though only a small increase of 0.2%, the rise in unemployment comes as fears are mounting that the cost-of-living crisis will impact on businesses in the North East. An influential survey this week said business activity in the region had fallen for two months in a row, with the North East recording the weakest economic performance of all UK regions for 10 consecutive months.
