RECORD numbers of women are out of work in Colchester.

Government figures released yesterday show the number of women joining the dole queue edged over 1,000 last month – the highest for 13 years.

In August, 1,017 women claimed job seeker’s allowance.

That was more than double the number of female claimants in August last year, and 62 more than in July this year.

The figures are still below the regional and national average for the number of women claiming job seekers’ allowance, and twice as many men – 2,618 – are claiming the benefit than women in the borough.

But Jane Anderson, 49, of East Bergholt, who has been looking for a post in childcare for six months, said she felt it was difficult for women in the current economic climate.

She said: “There seem to be quite a lot of young women with small children and young couples looking for jobs when I have visited the job centre recently.

“I think it can be a lot harder for women who have to balance childcare with working.

“Some employers are more understanding than others, but obviously with the amount of people out of work at the moment, they can pick and choose. They don’t have to be flexible.”

Professor Richard Berthoud, of Essex University’s Institute for Social and Economic Research, who has studied recession trends, said he was surprised at the rise in female claimants.

He said: “In the recessions of the Eighties and Nineties we found women were less sensitive to trends in unemployment rates than men were, because they were a group less likely to be in work in the first place.

“As the number of women in employment rises, you would expect more women to be eligible for job seekers’ allowance.

“One possibility is the number of claimants is rising as more women have jobs.”

The total number of people claiming job seekers’ allowance in Colchester is up by 171.

There were 3,635 people claiming the allowance in August.

The number of job vacancies was also down.

John Clayton, of Essex Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s the seasonal effect working its way out of the system.

“Short-term jobs created over the summer are now coming to an end, and are not being matched by the opportunites to take people into employment.

“It’s normal for this stage of the year, and exactly what we would expect to see numbers increasing until businesses start to take on additional workers for the Christmas period.”