THE NUMBER of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) in Devon has risen slightly for the first time since February 2013, with figures increasing by 66 claimants over the past month.

Claimants in Devon have gone up from 6,513 in October to 6,579 in November meaning a 1% increase from last month.

Year on year, the number of people claiming JSA in Devon has fallen by 2,628 claimants or 28.5%, a bigger decrease than the national figure of 20.3% over the year.

The number of people aged 24 and under claiming JSA has also increased slightly - by 45 claimants - rising from 1,730 in October to 1,775 in November. This represents a 5.5% monthly decrease, compared to the UK average of 6.1%.

In November 2012, youth unemployment in the county stood at 2,700 compared to 1,775 in November 2013, which is a 34.3% reduction (or 925 claimants) over the year and a bigger reduction than the UK average of 26%.

Youth unemployment in Devon accounts for 27% of the total JSA claimants compared to 25.7% for the UK as a whole.

Despite this slight increase, claimant count in Devon at 1.5% of the working age population remains half the national figure of 3.0%.

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said: "Whilst it is disappointing to hear of an increase in unemployment, it is not altogether unexpected to see a rise at this time of the year and is very often down to the effects of summer seasonal employment which generally comes to an end by the final weeks of October.

The particular rises in unemployment in North Devon and Torridge make it clear that there is a strong case for the granting of Assisted Area status to northern Devon. Devon County Council has been working very closely with the Heart of the South West LEP and MPs to make this case."