by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Maidstone was Kent's jobless black spot last month (May), accounting for 99 of the 142 jobseekers joining the countywide dole queue.

The number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance across Kent and Medway stood at 33,945 on May 12, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Medway's total fell by nine to 6,755 (four per cent of the workforce), while the Kent tally rose by 151 to 27,190 (3.1 per cent).

There was a mixed picture across the county, with seven of the 12 districts seeing a rise in the number of claimants, and the remaining five recording falls.

The bleakest numbers were in Maidstone, where 99 people joined the dole queue, pushing the total up to 2,366 (2.5 per cent of the workforce).

The claimant count in Tonbridge and Malling edged up 24, giving a combined increase of 123 in Mid Kent. But in Swale, the total fell by 66 to 3,066 (3.7 per cent), the biggest fall in the east of the county.

Nationally, the claimant count rose by 19,000 to 1.49 million, while the quarterly unemployment figure dropped by 88,000 to 2.43 million.

Just under one in five 16 - 24 year olds - 895.000 - were out of work in the three months to April. The number of unemployed 16 - 17 year olds fell by 12,000 to 203,000.

Unemployment figures on May 12: Kent and Medway, 33,945 (up 142); Medway, 6,755 (down nine); Ashford, 1,928 (up 16); Canterbury, 2,286 (down 19); Dartford, 1,987 (down four); Dover, 2,269 (up 42); Gravesham, 2,608 (up 17); Maidstone, 2,366 (up 99); Sevenoaks, 1,247 (down three); Shepway, 2,458 (down six); Swale, 3,066 (down 66); Thanet, 4,416 (up 34); Tonbridge and Malling, 1,438 (up 24); Tunbridge Wells, 1,121 (up 17).