by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Kent and Medway's dole queue lengthened again last month with a rise of nearly 1,000.

The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance jumped by 982 to 34,076.

In Medway, the jobless total went up by 170 to 6,678 (four per cent) and across the rest of Kent by 812 to 27,398 (3.1 per cent). The latest increase follows a 1,900 leap in January.

Nationally, the quarterly unemployment rate to January rose to eight per cent, with the number of people out of work rising by 27,000 to 2.53m, the highest figure since 1994.

The claimant count fell by 10,200 to 1.45m.