Unemployment in Weymouth and Portland is double rest of Dorset (From Dorset Echo)

Unemployment in Weymouth and Portland is double rest of Dorset

1:30pm Saturday 9th February 2013 in News By Rachael Burnett

THE unemployment rate in Weymouth and Portland is almost double that in the rest of the county.

There are currently 3,992 who are out of work in Dorset and 1,236 of those are in the borough.

The rate of unemployment is three per cent, compared to 1.3 per cent in West Dorset and 1.7 in the whole county.

Although the figure has improved since this time last year, another 122 residents in Weymouth and Portland lost their jobs in the last month.

Terence Bowering, aged 59, of Puddletown, has been looking for permanent work for around six years.

He said: “I had a three months of work at the chocolate factory in Dorchester but they stopped my contract in October and I haven’t found anything since then.

“I’ve been looking for something permanent on and off for the last five or six years.

“It’s difficult where I live because I don’t drive and public transport makes it harder but it’s really difficult to find a job anyway.

“All I do every day is just try and find some work, every day I look.”

Weymouth resident Jamie McCarthy, aged 21, was unemployed for a year before he started a degree in mathematics at the University of West England.

He said: “I spent about a year looking for a job before I decided to go to university.

“I’m hoping that with this qualification I will have a better chance.”

South Dorset MP Richard Drax said He said: “Any unemployed person is regrettable and the spike in Weymouth and Portland is not dissimilar to other seaside resorts.

“The economy is struggling and it’s very good news that despite this more people are in employment now since last year.

“There are large investments in the area, on the Granby Industrial Estate and at the New Look site, so it’s not all gloom and doom.

“There are new companies coming in but the seasonal fluctuations must play a part.”

Current unemployment rate:

GB 3.7 (1,459,647 people)

West Dorset 1.3 (737 people)

Weymouth and Portland 3 (1,236 people)

DCC Dorset 1.7 (3,992 people)

Monthly percentage change:

GB -0.8 (-12,011 people)

West Dorset 5.3 (37 people)

Weymouth and Portland 11 (122 people)

DCC Dorset 5.3 (200 people)

Annual percentage change

GB -3.3 (-50,089 people)

West Dorset -8.2 (-66 people)

Weymouth and Portland -7.9 (-106 people)

DCC Dorset -6.6 (-280 people)