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