Unemployment in Dover could be more than double the official figure, according to a report published today.

It claims that the real level of unemployment across Britain is already nearly 3.5 million – almost a million more than the highest official estimate and two million more than the number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance.

In Dover, the report says that instead of the official figure of 4.3% of working age people being unemployed, the actual figure is 9.2%.

The report, by Sheffield Hallam University, highlights the scale of what is described as “hidden unemployment” among men and women who fail to qualify for Jobseeker’s Allowance or are diverted onto other benefits.

Much of southern England, outside London, is said to escape the worst effects of the downturn but that the region’s seaside towns are a major exception with 16 of the 21 districts with the highest unemployment being located along the coast.

The new report, from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, is the fourth in a series dating back to 1997 and shows the “real rate of unemployment” is higher than at any time since then.

Professor Steve Fothergill, who led the research, said: “For more than 20 years successive governments have hidden the true scale of unemployment, for example by parking vast numbers on incapacity benefits.

“Our figures show that unemployment in the seaside towns of the south is much worse than official figures have suggested."

Full story and reaction in this week's Dover Mercury.