East Thanet shows drop in unemployment - but total still high

EAST Thanet has recorded one of the biggest drops in unemployment in Kent during Labour's first year in office - but it continues to have the highest joblessness rate in the county.

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New figures show the number of people in East Thanet claiming unemployment benefits fell by 9.9 per cent between July 2024 and July 2025. This means that 375 fewer residents are now out of work, leaving 3,420 still claiming - equivalent to 5.5 per cent of the local population, or roughly one in every 18 people.

Across Kent, unemployment fell by 4.7 per cent over the year, with 1,995 fewer people out of work.

Dover and Deal saw the steepest decline at 15.2 per cent, while East Thanet had the second largest fall, followed by Faversham and Mid Kent (7.3 per cent).

But despite the improvement, East Thanet's unemployment rate remains the highest in Kent, well above the county average of 3.9 per cent.