Unemployment numbers in the county have risen for the first time in a year - just as households face one of the tightest squeezes on the cost of living in a generation.

After months of steady decline, figures for February, released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reveal the overall number of people claiming Universal Credit rose in all but one of the county's districts.

However, the figures remain well below those seen during the peak of the pandemic.

Across Kent and Medway, the monthly adjusted figures reveal a rise in claimants of 1.4% - rising from 45,970 in January to 46,610 last month.

Nationally, the numbers of jobless has fallen over the last three months to pre-pandemic levels.

The biggest increase in those making claims was in Canterbury, which was up 2.6%. Hot on its heels were Maidstone (2.5%), and Dover (2.3%).

Only Sevenoaks saw a reduction in numbers as figures fell 2.3% month-on-month.

Households are bracing themselves for tough months ahead as rising fuel costs and the war in Ukraine see set to send energy bills soaring.

In addition, the government intends to hike National Insurance contributions from April to pay for the NHS and social care.

The number of claims in the county had been falling steadily since February 2021.

Reflecting on the decrease in claims, nationally, over the past quarter, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "I am confident that our labour market is in a good position to deal with the current global challenges, with payrolled employee numbers above pre-pandemic levels in every nation and region and redundancies at record lows.

ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner added: “The labour market continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, with the number of unemployed people falling below its pre-pandemic level for the first time and another strong rise in employees on payroll in February.

“However, the number of people out of work and not looking for a job rose again, meaning total employment remained well below its pre-pandemic level."