THE number of people currently unemployed across Skegness and Mablethorpe is higher than both the current regional and national average.

Current rates, largely due to the seasonal nature of many jobs across the area, stand at 6.3 percent with 2,079 people claiming unemployment benefit within the travel to work area of the towns.

As a county, 15,527 people are unemployed in Lincolnshire with the overall unemployment rate at 3.8 percent, a 33 percent increase compared to December 2008 and a figure largely driven by rates in the Skegness and Mablethorpe area..

The largest monthly increase was seen in Mablethorpe where unemployment rose 24 percent.

Despite this, the figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suggest that compared to previous years', the county's unemployment increase is not unusual at this

time of year.