by Trevor Sturgess

An East-West jobless divide has opened up in Kent, with unemployment soaring in the east of the county but dropping in the west.

For the second month in a row the figures for Thanet, Shepway, Dover and Swale rose sharply, while those for districts such as Dartford, Sevenoaks, and Tonbridge and Malling posted encouraging falls.

There were treble-digit rises in Thanet (up 108) and Swale (up 105), with increases of 87 and 62 respectively in Swale and Dover - a combined rise of 362.

Yet in the west, Dartford’s jobless total fell 63, Sevenoaks’ by 53, Tonbridge and Malling’s by 47, Tunbridge Wells’ by 29, Maidstone’s by 23 and Gravesham’s by 14 - a combined fall of 229.

In the east, only Ashford (up 11) and Canterbury (up seven) kept their increase to modest levels.

It had been feared that the banking crisis might lead to a sharp exodus of City workers, sparking a steep rise in West Kent’s commuter belt. But the latest figures suggest that west Kent residents are weathering the storm better than their eastern neighbours.

The total number of people out of work and claiming benefit across the county stood at 35,364 people on December 10 when the figures were last recorded, a net rise of 147.

Medway enjoyed a small drop, down by four to 7,303 ( 4.6 per cent of the workforce), but there was a rise of 151 across the rest of the county to 28,061 (3.3 per cent).

Nationally, the quarterly unemployment figure fell by 7,000 to 2.46 million in the three months to November, while the monthly claimant count dipped by 15,200 to 1.61 million.

The number of people out of work for more than a year rose by 29,000 to 631,000 in the three months to August, while unemployment for 18 - 24 year olds fell 12,000 to 728,000.

Unemployment in the county on December 10: Kent and Medway combined, 35,364 (up 147); Medway, 7,303 (down four); Rest of Kent, 28,061 (up 151); Ashford, 1,937 (up 11); Canterbury, 2,374 (up seven); Dartford, 1,957 (down 63); Dover, 2,435 (up 62); Gravesham, 2,528 (down 14); Maidstone, 2,444 (down 23); Sevenoaks, 1,396 (down 53); Swale, 3,285 (up 105); Thanet, 4,304 (up 108); Tonbridge and Malling, 1,548 (down 47); Tunbridge Wells, 1,234 (down 29).