UNEMPLOYMENT in Dorset is down on last year by around 40 per cent – but there are fears that joblessness could rise sooner than previously expected.

There were 8,013 people in the BCP Council area unemployed and claiming benefit as of May, down 39 per cent year-on-year.

The figure was 30 per cent up on five years ago.

Among young people, unemployment was down 49 per cent year-on-year to 1,057 – but 38 per cent up on five years ago.

In the Dorset Council area, there were 4,741 people claiming universal credit because of unemployment, down 42 per cent on last year, but 26 per cent up on five years ago.

The number of unemployed young people stood at 615, down 56 per cent on last year but up 30 per cent since five years ago.

Nationally, unemployment increased by 0.1 per cent in the three months to June, the first rise for 27 months.

The figure led Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, to predict that unemployment would rise sooner than forecast by the Bank of England.

“The unemployment rate is no longer falling and the timeliest indicators suggest that it will start to rise far sooner than the BoE anticipates,” he said.

David McArthur, Jobcentre Plus employer and partnership manager for Dorset, welcomed the local figures. “It’s great to see such a myriad of sectors still recruiting locally,” he said.

JobCentre Plus had a jobs fair in Poole yesterday, with employers including Lush, the Ministry of Defence, Morebus, Wessex Internet, Quay Hotel and Colten Care.

It will host a construction jobs fair on September 13.

Mr McArthur said: “We are also very much looking forward to the Daily Echo Jobs Fair on September 22 at the Bournemouth Pavilion. Both of these events being a fantastic opportunity to find long-term sustainable employment locally.

“We continue to deliver terrific monthly events right across Dorset, including Desk for a Day and both sector tailored and generic recruitment days. Since March, Bournemouth Jobcentre Plus has facilitated over 1,500 on-site interviews, resulting in 250 immediate job offers and 260 second interviews.

“From job opportunities in jobcentres to skills academies, there’s a huge amount of help available, and our work coaches are working tirelessly to get people at any age, or career stage, into rewarding and stable employment.”