Claims for Jobseekers Allowance are on the rise in both Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge, despite a national drop in unemployment.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed Reigate and Banstead had more people on Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) than any other local authority in Surrey, the second highest per population rate of women claiming JSA in the county, and the highest year-on-year increase.

The rise comes despite the number of people out of work nationally falling by 7,000 to 2.458 million in the three months to November last year, and the amount of benefit claimants dropping nationally by 15,200 to 1.61 million.

Chris Blockey, Advice Service Manager at Reigate and Banstead District Citizens Advice Bureau, said: "I am not surprised by these figures or to see that parts of Surrey, especially Reigate and Banstead, is bucking the national trend.

"We are really busy at the moment, particularly advising on benefits, debt and employment matters.

"And I don't see that changing for a while. There are areas in Reigate and Banstead, everyone knows them, like Tadworth, Horley, Merstham and parts of Redhill where there are a lot of low paid jobs and those are often hit first."

She said pockets of poverty around Surrey, despite it being perceived as an affluent area, brought the claimant figures up.

She said she believed a lot of self-employed people had tried to ride out the recession and held on for as long as they could, but had just run out of time.

According to the Government's figures, as of December 10, 2009, 1,264 men, and 588 women were claiming JSA in Reigate and Banstead, 2.9 and 1.5 per cent of the working population respectively.

That represented a year-on-year increase in JSA claimants of nine per cent, compared to 0.7 per cent in Tandridge, where 984 people were claiming for the same period.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions told The Mirror: "There are new initiatives designed to tackle unemployment in the region.

"Our new guarantee system has just gone live, and now every person who is unemployed for six months will be guaranteed the offer of a job, training or work experience."

The figures, released on Wednesday, January 20, can be viewed on the Office for National Statistics website – www.statistics.gov.uk