COUNCIL chiefs have produced a report detailing where the recession is beginning to bite in Norfolk.Figures collected by Norfolk County Council show unemployment has gone up most in the Broadland area over the past 12 months - rising by 105pc (by 38pc in Yarmouth).

COUNCIL chiefs have produced a report detailing where the recession is beginning to bite in Norfolk.

Figures collected by Norfolk County Council show unemployment has gone up most in the Broadland area over the past 12 months - rising by 105pc (by 38pc in Yarmouth).

Norwich, the largest area, also has the most unemployed in any district at 3,979 - though the figures do not appear to include recent job cut announcements at Norwich Union.

In Norfolk, 3,710 redundancies have been notified to Jobcentre Plus including 535 since January.

The report, which was considered by the council's ruling executive yesterday also looked at housing and found that the east of England was one of only two regions to see a marginal rise in house prices (0.1pc).

In Norfolk, house sales were up by 38.2pc since November 2008 and new buyer inquiries were up by 69.9pc.

It also detailed jobs growth was strong in the energy sector, while agriculture was “relatively buoyant”.

The report said that despite the tough trading environment, the east of England's economy was “generally faring better than other regions, as it is not reliant on heavy industry, automotive and consumer goods manufacturing”.

“There has clearly been a significant amount of bad news over the past few months and undoubtedly there are more shocks to come,” the report said. “However, it is important to stress that it is not all bad news.

“Many businesses have repeatedly stressed that they expect to weather the storm and use the recession as an opportunity to rethink strategies and hopefully emerge in a fitter and more robust state.”