A COUNCIL leader has admitted that more needs to be done to attract jobs to the area in the wake of new unemployment statistics.

The latest figures released by the Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit reveal that Tees Valley has a higher unemployment rate than both the North-East and the country as a whole.

Redcar and Cleveland tops the league in the area, at 8.7 per cent, with 4,119 people claiming unemployment benefit in the borough during September.

Councillor David Walsh, the leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, blamed it on job losses in the steel industry.

"The JSU figures obviously bear out what's been happening recently with job losses at Corus and their knock-on effects," he said.

"They mean we have got to redouble our efforts to attract new firms into the area, help train and retrain our workers, and develop attractive industrial sites for new units."

As well as coming out worst in the general figures for unemployment, Redcar and Cleveland, along with Hartlepool, had the highest proportion of long-term unemployed, with nearly a quarter of its jobless having been out of work for more than one year.

JSU information officer Tim Bounds said the findings represent the tip of the iceberg.

"As the figures are only based on those who are claiming benefits, real unemployment is probably at least double," he said.

Coun Walsh said he was confident that steps taken to improve local people's prospects following the Corus job losses would soon produce results