Three thousand people have been added to the dole queues in Yorkshire and the Humber region over the last three months, official job figures revealed yesterday - and women are bearing the brunt of the Tory-inflicted problem.

Female unemployment in the region increased by 12,000 in the last quarter, from 100,000 to 112,000.

Yorkshire and the Humber TUC policy officer Neil Foster TUC said: "There are now 10,000 more women out of work in Yorkshire than there were a year ago and the latest trends look even worse with 12,000 more out of work since the last quarter of the year.

"The government's slash-and-burn approach to public services are putting women disproportionately in the firing line since they make up two-thirds of the public service workers."