BLACKBURN with Darwen’s council leader has admitted ‘things will get worse’ after a steep rise in people claiming unemployment benefit.

The latest Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) figures show the claimant count jumped by 180 from 3,976 in April to 4,156 last month.

It is the first time the total has topped 4,000 since March 2010.

In contrast, four other East Lancashire boroughs saw falls in JSA rolls while Rossendale’s rose by just five.

The grim figures in Blackburn with Darwen come after the council announced 1,000 job losses last year following a budget squeeze.

However, just 100 staff were axed compulsorily, with others volunteering for redundancy.

Council leader Kate Hollern said: “The problem is that when you cut public spending, it affects private sector jobs because there is less money spent in areas like retail and manufacturing, which Blackburn and Darwen are strong in.

“Unfortunately, I think things will get worse before they get better.”

But East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Mike Damms said the swell may be down to a change in benefit rules, with claimants switched from more lucrative benefits like incapacity onto JSA.

He added: “I think this will be a short-term blip.

“I am speaking all the time to companies in East Lancashire that are creating jobs.”

Other East Lancashire JSA figures for May were: Hyndburn (down one to 1,912), Ribble Valley (down four to 426), Burnley (down 25 to 2,398), Pendle (down 26 to 1,907) and Rossendale (up five to 1,453).

Nationally, unemployment - all people out of work - was down 88,000 to 2.43million in the three months to April, while JSA claimant stood at 1.49million in May, up 19,600 from April.