The recession is biting deep in Croydon as the increase in unemployment rockets to twice the London average, new figures show.

The latest jobless statistics reveal a dramatic increase in the number of people signing on for Job Seekers’ Allowance.

In the north of the borough unemployment has risen by twice the London average increase of 53 per cent.

Since March last year the number of people in Croydon south constituency who are out of work has jumped by 105.9 per cent from 871 to 1,793.

In Croydon central the jobless figures have increased by 75 per cent from 1,710 to 2,995. Croydon north has seen a 52 per cent rise in unemployment from 2,523 in March 2008 to 3,847 in March 2009, figures from the House of Commons library showed.

Steve O’Connell, cabinet member for regeneration and economic development said: “It depresses me when I see anyone out of employment and I am working hard on the economic rejuvination of Croydon.

“My long-term goal is to bring a lot more inward investment into the borough which, in turn, will create jobs for some of the unemployed.

“There has been a great deal of mismanagment in terms of the economy but we will do our best to rectify that and stimulate the Croydon economy so it is prosperous now as well as in the long term.”

It is unclear where the majority of jobs have been lost as there have not been any announcements of major redundancies in Croydon.

At the start of the year the Land Registry announced it was due to cut nearly 1,000 jobs. It offered voluntary redundancy packages to its staff across the country, including the Croydon office.

Tony Newman, leader of the Croydon Labour group, said major employers in Croydon should be looking very carefully at what they are doing in the current financial climate.

He said: “Big organisations, both public and private should view redundancies as a last resort and not a first resort.

“There are some good examples of companies around the country who have looked at other options like reducing working hours.

“I suppose Croydon is vulnerable because there are quite a few global companies operating here.

“It is significant the council as a large employer has made a great number of people redundant this year.”

Croydon South MP, Richard Ottaway, said: "This illustrates it is a white collar recession particularly effecting the south of the borough.

I am constantly in touch with the Job Centre staff to make sure that all the help that can be given is being given."

Croydon Central MP, Andrew Pelling said: “I think Croydon faces particular challenges because the borough didn’t enjoy all of the economic upturn which has left us in a vulnerable position. The failure of the Gateway development meant investors who may have been waiting for the development to go ahead went elsewhere.”

Brian Stapleton, CEO Croydon Business said: “The recession has meant that there are more people out of work all across the country than had previously been the case and inevitably the people of Croydon were always going to be affected. We have an economic recovery plan in place which is aimed at providing the best possible help for both people and business in the borough, to assist them through these difficult economic times.”

Croydon North MP, Malcolm Wicks, said: “Unemployment is the most tragic consequence of recessions. The Government and others need to redouble their efforts to revive the economy otherwise the human consequences could be severe.”

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