UNEMPLOYMENT across Merseyside has remained stagnant for the last year – but that has masked huge rises in female unemployment.

Official monthly data published today showed the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) across Liverpool city region fell by just 35 people last month to 53,606 people – and 392, 0.7%, lower than a year ago.

There is also some variation across the sub-region. The number of JSA claimants in Wirral has fallen by 8% in the last year while Halton has had a 6% drop. At the same time, Knowsley’s claimant count has risen by 4%.

Across the city region female unemployment has soared by 17% in the last 12 months. Worst affected is Knowsley, where it has risen by 25% in the last year, while St Helens has seen an increase of more than 20%.

The surge in the female claimant count came as more single mothers switched from income support to JSA, due to changes to benefit rules introduced in 2008, the ONS said.

Nationally the claimant count increased by 12,400 last month to 1.47m. The number of women claiming JSA increased by 9,300 to 474,400, the highest level since October 1996, while the number of male claimants increased by 3,100 to 994,200.