Jobseekers in Hackney North have less chance of finding a job than those in any other area of the UK, new figures have shown.

Hackney North and Stoke Newington has the highest ratio of jobseekers to vacancies of any constituency in the country. Only 65 jobs are currently available to the 3,161 people registered as looking for work.

A spokesman for the Jobcentre Plus office in Mare Street said staff were doing everything they could to “provide real help and support to all those looking for work”.

But the director of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Hackney Central said case workers there were struggling to cope with the increased demand.

Rashid Seedat, director of legal services, said: “We have had a very sharp rise in demand. All our advisers are fully booked two weeks in advance. We could be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and still be full.”

Mr Seedat said staff were increasingly having to deal with high-earners who had lost their jobs and were facing bankruptcy and repossession.

He said: “All of our case workers are dealing with mortgage arrears cases, and we have never had that before in Hackney. Usually we have people on lower incomes needing our help, but recently it has been a complete cross section.

“We’ve got people in who were earning reasonably high incomes and suddenly have been made redundant. Their income is gone, and they are on a basic jobseekers’ allowance.

“We have also seen a lot of employment-rights cases coming in – people who have lost their jobs and want to know their rights.”

Rose Feiber, from Stoke Newington, has been claiming jobseekers’ allowance for nine months since she graduated from Essex University with a degree in English.

Ms Feiber said: “It’s really difficult at the moment and I do feel anxious. I didn’t think I’d be on jobseekers’ allowance for so long. My friends know I’m on it, but I don’t make a big thing of it. I suppose it’s a bit embarrassing.”

Miss Feiber has been using the Jobcentre in Dalston to search for jobs, and says the number of young and middle class people looking for work at the centre has steadily increased.

She said: “I definitely think there’s a real mix of people there nowadays, from all walks of life including people on middle incomes. I am looking for work in the arts sector and the job centre isn’t really geared up for people like me.”

Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said: “I am particularly concerned at the high levels of unemployment in my constituency and how things like the terrible Woolworths closures will affect my constituents.

“We need to ensure that people are given all the support they need while looking for jobs and that comprehensive training is available to help them fill the roles we need.”

The Government recently pledged an extra £1.3bn to Jobcentres to allow them to hire additional staff. A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said that the money would create 300 new jobs by the end of 2009.