Attacks on job staff on the rise.

THE increase in the number of people out of work has contributed to assaults on job centre staff rising by almost a third since 2006.

In 2006, 489 verbal and physical attacks were recorded on job centre employees in the North East.

But that figured jumped up to 630 in 2007 and nearly 600 in 2008. In the first six months of this year, already 360 assaults have been recorded.

It is thought that the rise in tension faced in frontline offices as more people lose their jobs in the recession has been a key driving force behind the increase.

The Department for Work and Pensions records divide abuse into categories - verbal, physical and other. The third category covers such events as abusive correspondence, hitting screens or throwing items which miss.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed during the past three years, 2,037 verbal or physical assaults were recorded, which included 183 physical attacks and 32 reports of staff actually being struck by a customer.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions added: "We will not tolerate any level of abusive, threatening or violent behaviour towards our staff and view every incident of this as totally unacceptable."

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