THE recession has not caused as large a rise in unemployment in Great Yarmouth as feared, figures revealed this week.The town has had a historically high jobless rate but more people have remained in work than in previous economic downturns.

THE recession has not caused as large a rise in unemployment in Great Yarmouth as feared, figures revealed this week.

The town has had a historically high jobless rate but more people have remained in work than in previous economic downturns.

There are currently 3,447 people unemployed in the borough, 6.3pc of the population. This is almost half the rate on the previous recession in 1992 when the figure was 12pc.

The study by the East of England Labour Party coincided with a surprise 7,000 fall in unemployment over the last three months to 2.46m

Yarmouth MP Tony Wright said: “These figures are very encouraging for Great Yarmouth and highlight the importance of maintaining support for the economy and for those who lose their jobs at this difficult time.

“I can remember when I was deputy leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council how badly the area suffered in the previous recession from lack of investment.

“I know that times are still hard now but this report shows that the Government's policies in this recession are working, and that Yarmouth is still a great place to do business.”