THE North-East jobless total rose for the eleventh month in a row last month - prompting calls for better skills in the region.

Unemployment rose by 3,000 to 74,000 - meaning 6.3 per cent of the region's population were unemployed.

The figure was higher than anywhere in the UK outside London, which has a rate of seven per cent unemployed.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: "The latest figures are an excellent illustration of the need for better skills in this region.

"We heard on Monday that the North-East is outstripping the rest of the country for jobs creation and yet unemployment in this area has nudged up slightly."

In the rest of the UK, figures showed that a record number of people are in work following an increase of almost 100,000 in the employment total.

More than 28 million men and women now have jobs, the highest figure since records began in 1971, after the biggest increase in employment for almost a year.

Meanwhile the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefit fell last month by 6,200 to 826,300, the lowest since 1975.

But there was a slight increase in unemployment, up by 13,000 in the quarter to November to 1.4 million, according to the data from the Office for National Statistics.

Over the past year the total number of unemployed people, including those not eligible for benefits, has fallen by 64,000.

Despite the healthy picture, jobs continued to be lost in manufacturing firms, down by 110,000 in the latest three months compared with a year earlier.

The number of jobs in the sector is down to 3.25 million, the lowest since records began 25 years ago.

There were 114,000 working days lost through industrial disputes in November, the highest for several months.