Analysis from The Work Foundation has revealed which areas are suffering the most from rising unemployment during the recession – and yes, you’ve guessed it – Hull has been hit badly.

The stats show the largest rises in the number of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance (outside of London) and Hull is actually fifth in the top ten cities to be suffering, with the jobless increasing from 8062 in Feb 08 to 13366 in Feb 09.

It may come as no surprise, after reading time and time again about key businesses in Hull closing down or laying off employees. In fact, here at Cityvisitor, we’ve noticed a 15% rise in job searches and a 56% rise in the number of people looking for recruitment agencies, so it is clear that people are struggling.

The increase in just a year is still staggering though, and despite more talk of “green shoots” in the press, it’s certainly not reflected in any of these cities listed in this top ten – which, it must be pointed out, are all from either the North, Scotland and Midlands.

You can see the table here, or if you’re hunting yourself, look up employment agencies in Hull

Apprenticeships have featured a lot on the news recently, and even Sir Alan Sugar has jumped on the bandwagon, being the “new face” for encouraging more apprenticeships in a high-profile advertising campaign.

The majority of the coverage has focused on how apprenticeships can add real value to businesses and that although many are struggling with the recession, now is the best time to be looking at developing talent. There’s even a Government target of reaching 130,000 apprenticeships completed by 2010.

If you’re a business owner in Hull, is it something you have ever thought of? To be fair, Hull seems to be playing its part; the number of apprentices qualifying in this area has increased dramatically in the past couple of years. Some 840 people passed an apprenticeship last year, compared to only 450 in 2003/04.

So, how do you tap into this wealth of enthusiastic workers? Or perhaps you are a young person wanting to enrol on a course yourself? Hull City Council website on training and development is a good place to start, which you can find here