Hull has highest percentage of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants

The percentage of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Hull hit 8.4% in January 2010, the highest of any area in the UK in the last five years.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed Hull still had the highest proportion of claimants in June, with 8.1%.

Wolverhampton had the second highest percentage, peaking at 8% in January.

Hull City Council said the lack of employment opportunities in Hull was "a major concern for the council".

The survey covered the period from the first quarter of 2005 to the latest quarter of 2011.

Chasing jobs

Over the same five-year period the increase in regional unemployment rates was the largest in West Midlands - up 6.1 percentage points - and Yorkshire and The Humber - up 5.3 percentage points.

As not all unemployed people are eligible to claim Jobseeker's Allowance, the number of claimants is not the same as the number of unemployed.

But ONS said claimant proportions and unemployment rates "largely show similar trends, typically rising and falling together".

The figures come a month after Jobcentre Plus data showed that Hull was the worst city in England in which to secure a job, with up to 83 people chasing each vacancy.

The average number of candidates for each job in the UK is six.

Steven Bayes, Hull City Council's portfolio holder for economic regeneration and employment, said "every effort" was being made to create employment opportunities.

He said this included investment in the city's infrastructure and developments in the off-shore renewables sector.