ALMOST 10,000 more people in Dorset ended 2020 unemployed and on benefits compared with the previous year.

Unemployment among young people has almost trebled in the county, at the same time as the national number of jobless reached a five-year high of 1.72million.

In the BCP Council area, the number of people claiming universal credit for unemployment rose 143 per cent year-on-year to 14,826 in December.

Among people aged 18 to 24, the figure rose by 178 per cent to 2,470.

In the Dorset Council area, the claimant figure rose 147 per cent to 9,064 – but among young people, it was up 197 per cent to 1,564.

In the New Forest, the number of young claimants rose by 231 per cent to 747, while the overall total was up 151 per cent to 4,013.

Bournemouth faces 'biggest challenge' in recovering from Covid crisis

A report earlier this week warned that Bournemouth faced the biggest challenge in the South West in recovering from the Covid crisis. It will need its unemployment figure to fall by 3.5 per cent in order to rebuild the economy.

Kerrie Honey, employment and partnership manager with the Department for Work and Pensions, said support for young people included the government’s Kickstart scheme.

It involves employers offering six-month placements for people aged 16-24 who are on universal credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

Number of young unemployed more than trebles in Dorset

“The key thing is that the employers have to create extra jobs, they can’t use it to cover normal recruitment,” she said.

“Because of that, quite a lot of employers are thinking about it quite creatively and creating jobs we wouldn’t have had before.

“We don’t want these young people to become long-term unemployed.”

For people being made redundant, Jobcentre Plus runs a rapid response service, which offers help with skills and job-hunting during the employee’s notice period and beyond.

“We really are throwing everything at it as far as support goes,” said Ms Honey.

Sectors still recruiting included care, engineering, logistics, digital and IT and the construction business, she added.

In Bournemouth, there was a particular need for bus drivers, with Jobcentre Plus fast-tracking people into interviews.

“We’re trying to tailor support to what’s in our local area,” she added.

More than 20,000 retail jobs have been put at risk this week, with Boohoo buying the Debenhams name but not its shops, and Asos poised to buy Topshop.

Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: “It is now crucial that the Job Retention Scheme and other Covid-19 economic support is extended beyond the spring to support employment as restrictions continue.”