by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Unemployment in East Kent is set to soar when Pfizer shuts up shop in Sandwich.

The latest figures, published last month by the Office for National Statistics, showed the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance in Thanet stood at 4,021 (5.1 per cent of the workforce), a rise of 53 over the previous month.

In Dover, the claimant count rose by 77 to 2,080 (3.2 per cent).

Unemployment tends to worsen in winter in both areas which are influenced by seasonal jobs such as those in the tourism industry or on cross-Channel ferries.

However, the present totals are a lot higher than a decade ago. In August 2001, the claimant count in Thanet stood at 2,726 and in Dover 1,395.

Closure of the Pfizer plant could add more than 2,000 people to the totals, plus many more who face losing their jobs in businesses that depend heavily on work from Pfizer.

Leader of the Thanet council, Cllr Bob Bayford, said "This news is an enormous setback for Thanet and the East Kent economy as a whole.

"Thanet’s unemployment level is already the highest in the South East so this is going to hit us particularly hard, at a time when the economic recovery is still very fragile.

For more on this story, see our special report

"We will be seeking an urgent ministerial meeting with our local MPs to see what action the government can take to mitigate the job losses.

"We call on the government to intervene and provide tangible opportunities to attract business investment into East Kent to replace the jobs lost.

"We will be redoubling our efforts to attract businesses and investment into Thanet.

Audio: Cllr Bob Bayford, on today's Pfizer news

"We will also be working closely with our neighbouring councils and with the county council to mitigate the impact of Pfizer’s closure on surrounding businesses and the local economy."

Cllr Clive Hart, leader of the Labour group on Thanet council, said: "The news that Pfizer is to close is an absolute disaster for East Kent.

"So many local residents here in Thanet rely on employment at Pfizer and many other local businesses will be seriously affected.

"Like so many others I am absolutely gutted by the news.

"The two major employment opportunities here in Thanet for the past twenty years were either in the public sector or at Pfizers.

"The public sector is being decimated by the ConDem government through over aggressive funding cuts and this news today blows away completely their claims that the private sector will step in and create new jobs."