NEW North West job fears grew today as it was revealed the number of people made redundant soared last winter.

Meanwhile, fresh figures confirmed that most of those who found themselves out of work had been in their jobs less than a year.

All of which, fears Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson is part of a worrying trend leading to mounting social insecurity.

Today's details were unearthed from government statistics by Shadow Employment Minister Ian McCartney.

They show how showing how last winter the number of North West redundancies leapt by an astonishing 77 per cent.

Between last October and January the total numbers registered in the region rose to around 23,000 compared to 13,000 a year earlier. A similar picture emerged across Britain , showing that although the unemployment benefit claims have fallen the rate of redundancies has risen.

Mr McCartney says the figures he has found show how most of those joining the dole had only been in work a few months.

In the North West between last October and January about 102,100 people signed on as unemployed of whom 60,600 - or almost 60 per cent - had been in their last job less than a year.

These figures come as no surprise to Labour MP Mrs Anderson, who is concerned at what she says is a growing practice in the North West of laying people off before they have worked long enough to gain employment rights. "There is a real job insecurity at the moment which is also driving down wages when we already have some of the lowest pay in the country," she added.

As Labour's Shadow Minister for Women's Affairs, Mrs Anderson said she believed this growing sense of insecurity was an issue which now worried many women.

Unveiling the details today, Mr McCartney added: "Tory policies have created a 'revolving door economy' and Britain faces a rising tide of redundancies."

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