Parts of Sussex have some of the highest rates of unemployment in the South East, according to figures released today.

Hastings has the second highest rate of unemployment in the region.

A total of 5.7 per cent of the district's workforce was on the dole on July 13 compared with the South East average of 3.3 per cent.

Brighton and Hove had the third highest rate of unemployment with 5.3 per cent of its workforce signing on.

The number of people on the dole in Hastings was 2,009 compared with 2,280 last year.

The figure for Brighton and Hove was 7,126, a fall of 1,095 since mid-1999.

Only Thanet in Kent had a higher rate of unemployment in the region.

In East Sussex there was a fall of 956 to 5,683, meaning three per cent of the workforce was on the dole.

The largest drop in the county was in Hastings and there was also a large fall in Eastbourne where 262 people came off the dole, leaving 1,158 jobless.

In West Sussex, 4,996 were signing on as of July 13 - a fall of 1,045 on 1999 - leaving an overall unemployment rate of 1.3 per cent.

The Arun district recorded the biggest fall with 235 coming off the dole, leaving 977 people, or 1.8 per cent of the workforce, jobless.

Mid Sussex had the lowest rate of unemployment in Sussex with 0.9 per cent of the workforce signing on.

Other areas with an unemployment rate of less than two per cent included Wealden, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham and Worthing.

A spokesman for the Office of National Statistics, which compiled the figures, said vacancies at Jobcentres had risen during the 12 months leading up to July.

The number out of work in Lewes district fell by 160 and in Rother by 141.

A total of 74 people came off the dole in Wealden.

In Worthing 203 people signed off. There were drops of 70 in Horsham, 182 in Chichester and 85 in Mid Sussex.

The lowest rates of unemployment in the region were in Mole Valley and Surrey Heath, in Surrey.

Nationally, unemployment fell to a record low. The number of people unemployed and claiming benefit was down last month by 22,700 to 1,069,800.

The International Labour Organisation jobless total, which includes people who are not on benefit, fell by 91,000 to 1,622,000 between April and June.

The figures also showed that employment had increased by 106,000 over the three months to June.

But the number of manufacturing jobs shrank by two per cent.