UNEMPLOYMENT in Kent and Medway soared by more than 1,500 in January.

The picture was grim countywide, with 225 more people signing on in Medway and 1,295 people in the rest of the county.

The combined Kent and Medway total went up by 1,520 to 19,355 (2.6 per cent of the workforce). The jobless total has risen by more than 2,000 in the past two months, although it is still 2,274 less than a year ago.

The steep rise, bucking the national trend, underlined the depth of the economic slowdown now being experienced in the county, especially in manufacturing - hit by overseas competition - and travel-related businesses - hit by September 11.

A number of manufacturers, most recently St Ives printing works in Gillingham, have announced closures and layoffs.

There were three-figure rises in Swale, Maidstone, Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford and Thanet.

The local increase contrasted with a small dip across the rest of the country.

The national claimant count fell 10,600 in January to 951,300, a jobless rate of 3.2 per cent, following three monthly increases in a row.

The Office for National Statistics has reported that the number of people in work at the end of last year was 28.2 million, the highest total since records began in 1979.

Average earnings also showed an overall fall although they rose by three per cent in manufacturing, the lowest for almost 20 years.

Increases in the public sector averaged 5.2 per cent in the year to December, compared with 2.9 per cent in private firms.