Unemployment in the North East has risen sharply after two months of record lows, new figures show.
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown the region’s unemployment has risen 0.5% to 4.7%, having fallen to record lows in the last two months. The rise in joblessness in the North East was higher than the small increase seen nationally.
The figures also showed the fifth quarterly fall in the number of job vacancies being advertised in a further sign of deepening economic gloom. Wages continued to be outstripped by rising prices, falling by 3.9% after Consumer Prices Index inflation is taken into account.
