Unemployment levels in English seaside resorts have increased during the past year despite a rise in the number of people opting for 'staycations', according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that five million Britons had shunned foreign holidays in favour of domestic breaks as a result of the recession, but the TUC said that the shift in holiday trends had failed to halt rising unemployment. According to TUC figures, unemployment in Bournemouth, Dorset, increased by 130 per cent since July 2008 - significantly above the national average of 81 per cent, while there has been a 122 per cent increase in unemployment in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Millions of people are opting to save money during the downturn and have rediscovered what great holidays you can have in the UK. However, in spite of this welcome boost to the UK's seaside resorts and tourist industry, unemployment is at crisis level in many of our best-loved traditional English holiday destinations. "Many seaside towns have made impressive and imaginative efforts to regenerate themselves - and deserve real praise - but even the most ambitious scheme cannot buck the effects of such a deep recession."