The number of people on unemployment benefits remained just below 19,000 last month but the figure for older and younger claimants increased, latest research shows.

There were 15 more claimants of either jobseeker’s allowance or universal credit in Kent in August, bringing the total to 18,970.

More young people began claiming in Kent, with 65 more 16 to 24-year-olds on the benefits, according to the Office for National Statistics.

There was also a large rise in those over 50, up 55, while there was a fall of 100 among those aged 25 to 49.

Dover experienced the biggest rise in its claimant count across Kent, up 95 to 1,625.

Elsewhere, it was a mixed picture across the county, with the only other significant rise in Canterbury, up 40 to 1,340.

Meanwhile, there were notable falls in Medway, down 45 to 3,355, Shepway, down 30 to 1,335, and Ashford and Swale, both down 25 to 1,245 and 1,980 respectively.

Across the South East, unemployment fell by 13,000 to 152,000 in the three months to July, giving the region the UK’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.2%.

There were 4.6 million people in work in the area, up 54,000.

Nationally, there were 1.46 million unemployed people in the three months to July, down 75,000.

The unemployment rate was 4.3%, its lowest since 1975.