Shock new figures show the number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Oxfordshire has risen by nearly 10 per cent in a month — well above the national rate.

Statistics released by the Office of National Statistics showed there were 4,401 claimants in August, up from 4,007 in July, giving clear evidence the economic downturn was beginning to bite. This month last year there were 3,695 people claiming benefit.

One man feeling the the current economic slump is Luke Waite, 19, from Sorrel Road, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, who has been searching for a job for three months — and is now considering moving in search of work.

Mr Waite, who has worked as a laboratory assistant, labourer and traffic warden, said: "It is horrible. There is hardly any work out there. I have applied for more than 100 jobs in the past three months.

"If you apply for 20 jobs, only two will reply.

"It is nearly impossible nowadays to get a job. Everyone is going for the jobs at the same time. I have been looking at moving out of the county."

The figures mark the largest upward leap in a single month since March 2006, when the number of jobless hit 4,832 — up 477 on the February figure. Nationally, there are now 904,900 claimants, up from 860,000 the previous month.

Keith Mitchell, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, which declared 15 redundancies last month, said: "An increase of 10 per cent is a matter of concern and we and our business colleagues are looking at it closely.

"While it is too early for us to say with any confidence where the extra redundancies in August took place, it makes sense to look first at the construction industry, which is being hit by the credit crunch. "

In west Oxfordshire, where unemployment increased by 52 — from 387 to 439 — all the job losses can be accounted for by the redundancies at timber frame construction company Stewart Milne, where 78 people lost their jobs last month.

One estate agency worker, who had recently been made redundant, said: "There are a lot of redundancies out there in all trades to do with the housing market."

Barry Wheatley, of the Oxfordshire Federation of Small Businesses, added: "One problem for my members is that large companies are delaying payments thanks to the credit crunch, and that puts them in a difficult position — which in turn sometimes leads to redundancies."