Jobcentre staff have been left scratching their heads at a rise in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Kent over the last year.

Another 240 people began claiming either Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit in the county last month, figures show.

That put Kent’s total claimant count at 18,445 people in October, up 1,806 on the same time a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.

It comes amid a picture of falling unemployment nationally and regionally.

Although the stats do not directly correlate, the South East saw unemployment fall by 3,000 to 170,000 in the three months to September, which is down 13,000 compared with the same time last year. The region’s unemployment rate was 3.6%, down from 3.9% a year earlier.

We know when there’s a problem in the labour market and I can say, at the moment, that is categorically not the case..." - Sue Rogers, Jobcentre

Nationally, there were 1.6 million unemployed people from July to September, down 37,000. The unemployment rate was 4.8%, the lowest since the same period in 2005.

Part of the rise in Kent’s claimant count has been put down to the rollout of Universal Credit – the new all-encompassing benefit being introduced by the government – which people can still claim while they are in work, unlike the old Jobseeker’s Allowance.

However, while Kent has slowly been introducing Universal Credit for single claimants, the county is yet to begin the rollout of the full service, which will also include families, leaving many experts confused about the rising figure.

Sue Rogers, operations manager at Dartford and Gravesend Jobcentres, has worked in the industry in Kent for 35 years and says the number of jobs available is growing, not falling.

She pointed to shopping centres like Bluewater, which is advertising for between 80 and 100 vacancies at any one time.

She said: “We have new employers coming in who are taking on significant numbers of people. There are jobs out there and business is buoyant.

“Jobcentres know when redundancies are taking place because they start getting lots of phone calls. We know when there’s a problem in the labour market and I can say, at the moment, that is categorically not the case.

“We are not seeing companies shedding staff. There are actually a significant number of companies opening up.”

While the total claimant count in Kent is up on the previous year, the figure is down 12,131 from October 2010, when 30,576 people were on the dole.

"The change in Kent over the past year is not anything to do with Universal Credit. It is just a natural fluctuation...” - Steve Milne, Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions spokesman Steve Milne said rises in the claimant count could be explained by people moving to the area or by people becoming unwell.

He said that the rising number of people on unemployment benefits in Kent would increase further over the coming year as full-service Universal Credit was rolled out across the county.

He also said statisticians at the Office for National Statistics were still getting to grips with the task of calculating an accurate picture of claimants of both Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit.

Mr Milne said: “We have had the rollout of Universal Credit for single clients and now we are moving on to full rollout for families. People are worried the change may potentially impact the statistics.

“But the change in Kent over the past year is not anything to do with Universal Credit. It is just a natural fluctuation.”

Across Kent, Thanet suffered the largest increase in October of 70, taking its total claimant count to 2,725.

Swale had the second largest increase, up 55 to 1,945, while Dover and Shepway both jumped by 40, to 1,395 and 1,345 respectively.

Elsewhere, rises were smaller, with Medway up 30 to 3,470 and Canterbury up 25 to 1,335, while Ashford (1,120), Tonbridge and Malling (720) and Tunbridge Wells (570) all increased by five.

Only four areas enjoyed falls, with Dartford down 20 to 780, Gravesham down 15 to 1,290 and Maidstone and Sevenoaks both down five, to 1,215 and 535 respectively.