One in 20 of the working population in Milton Keynes are now jobless.

Latest figures show unemployment up from 4.9 per cent in July to 5 per cent last month.

The rate is now well ahead of the south-east region's 3.1 per cent and the national 4.2 per cent.

A total of 7,497 people are claiming benefit – 5,373 men and 2,124 women.

The overall number of claimants rose by 110 between July and August compared to a 200 increase over the previous month.

A fuller picture of how hard the recession is hitting the city workforce is not available from the official data which only counts those claiming Jobseekers Allowance in Milton Keynes rather than the number of jobs lost in the city.

MP for North East Milton Keynes Mark Lancaster said a number of businesses were saying they expected to lay off workers in the coming months.

He said: "One of the big things that we could do is to look at local business rates which are unusually high in Milton Keynes and look at getting some support into business by trying to bring the rates down or offering short-term discounts."

MP for Milton Keynes South West Dr Phyllis Starkey said increasing unemployment was not unexpected "but that doesn't lessen the impact on individuals".

She endorsed the government's extra funding for businesses and individuals to combat the recession.

The Department of Work and Pensions has approved Milton Keynes Council's bid for £624,000 for its scheme to tackle high levels of unemployment among young people.

The funding will help create 96 jobs in the private, public and voluntary sectors from November.

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