THOUSANDS of Dorset residents are feeling the effects of the coronavirus crisis with twice as many people claiming unemployment benefits compared to a month ago.

The Labour Party says more of us will soon face what it describes as "one of the weakest out-of-work safety nets in the developed world", and has joined charities in urging reform to the system.

Office for National Statistics data shows 7,640 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in Dorset as of April 9, compared to just 3,775 a month earlier.

Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the rise shows the “severity of the crisis we are facing”.

He added: “Unfortunately these claimants will now discover the UK has one of the weakest out-of-work safety nets in the developed world.

“We support the changes the Government has made so far during the outbreak, but they do not match the scale of the crisis.”

The party has called on the Government to make five immediate changes to the benefits system, which include ending the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments and scrapping a £16,000 limit on the amount of savings claimants can have.

The statistics capture the early weeks of restrictions after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the country into lockdown on March 23, meaning the numbers are likely to have risen since.

However, Dorset's claimant rate was still slightly lower than the 4.3 percent across the South West as a whole.

Sara Willcocks, from the anti-poverty charity Turn2us, said: "No matter where you live in the UK, you should be able to rely on our social security system, just as we do our NHS.

"So the Government must take this time to fix the problems with benefits, like the five-week wait for Universal Credit, and make them suitable for the 21st century."

Across the UK, the claimant count rocketed to 2.1 million on April 9 – a 66 percent rise from March, although the ONS put the increase at 69 percent if the figures were adjusted to take seasonal variations into account.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “These are challenging times, but Universal Credit is providing a vital safety net to those affected by the pandemic and we’ve taken action by injecting over £6.5 billion to support people using the welfare system.”