Watford and Hertsmere have seen some of the sharpest spikes in people claiming unemployment benefits across the East of England, new figures reveal.

The most recent office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows how many people have been claiming out-of-work benefits in different areas across the country as of May 14.

And it shows that since March, when the UK was put on lockdown, more people across Watford, Hertsmere and Three Rivers have been signing on.

In Watford, the data shows that 4,140 people were claiming out-of-work benefits as of May 14, compared to just 1,710 in early March.

It means the share of the population signing on rose from 2.7 per cent to 6.6 per cent – among the biggest jumps in the East of England, where the claimant rate rose from 2.4 per cent to 5.7 per cent.

The increase was reflected in Hertsmere as well - data shows the number jumped from 1,345 in March to 3,740 as of May 14.

This meant the claimant rate in the borough jumped from 2.1 per cent to 5.9 per cent.

Meanwhile in Three Rivers, 1,000 people signed on as of March 12, but that number increased to 2,710, the most recent figures show. This equalled a jump from 1.7 per cent to 4.7 per cent.

The ONS figures count those aged 16 to 64 who are on Jobseekers Allowance and some Universal Credit claimants, with numbers rounded to the nearest five.

Across the UK, the claimant count more than doubled to 2.7 million on May 14, with separate ONS figures showing the figure stood at 2.8 million for the whole month – the highest since 1993.

The ONS cautioned that changes to Universal Credit in response to the virus mean more people could get unemployment-related benefits while still being employed, which could affect the figures.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds is calling for an urgent "back to work budget" to support jobs through the economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus.

She said: “The Government was too slow to recognise the scale of the health crisis from coronavirus and we are already paying the economic price.

“The window is closing to protect existing jobs and encourage firms to invest in creating new ones."

Asked on Sky News about possible measures in an emergency budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the priority was to drive the recovery by getting businesses open and people back to work.

He added: "We've got to look forward and we set out an ambitious agenda at budget as well about investing in our regions, making sure we drive growth and productivity through infrastructure investment."