UNEMPLOYMENT among Dorset's young people has more than trebled since this time last year, the latest joblessness figures show.

The news came as it emerged that record numbers of workers had been made redundant between August and October.

In the BCP Council area, the number of 18-24 year-olds claiming benefits through unemployment was up 224 per cent to 2,703. Claimants of all ages totalled 15,738, up 154 per cent.

In the Dorset Council area, young claimants rose 230 per cent to 1,770, while total unemployment rose 164 per cent to 9,815.

In the New Forest, benefit claimants rose 184 per cent to 4,452, while the number of young people on benefits was up 284 per cent to 845.

Andy Sherman, partnership manager with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), said young people could be helped by the Kickstart scheme, which funds job placements for 16-24-year-olds at risk of long-term unemployment.

“The Kickstart scheme is really taking off with employers offering those vacancies,” he said.

Mr Sherman urged anyone made redundant from a job to contact their Jobcentre for careers help as soon as they were put on notice.

The National Careers Service can provide practical support with job-hunting and the DWP offers funding for retraining.

“The help and support is available 13 weeks before the person becomes redundant, not just for those people that have actually been made redundant,” he said.

“Sometimes people leave getting help and support until they’ve been made redundant, when they could be working out their next steps, what action they’re going to take and what support they might need.”

Nationally, unemployment rose to 4.9 per cent in October, up from 4.8 per cent the previous month.

But redundancies reached a record high of 370,000 in the past quarter, despite a slight fall in October.

Employment minister Mims Davies said: “It’s been a truly challenging year for many families but with a vaccine beginning to roll out with more perhaps to follow and the number of job vacancies increasing, there is hope on the horizon for 2021.”

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds tweeted: “Redundancies rocketed to a record high of 370,000 in the three months to October. That was when the clock was ticking down to the chancellor’s furlough cliff-edge and he was chopping and changing on support for businesses. His irresponsible decisions have cost jobs.”