The latest rise has pushed claimant count across the two regions to more than 20,000, with more than 140,000 people across the country now out of work and on benefits.

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said, “These are still tough times for many Scottish families but Scotland will get through this if we all work together. It is clear from these figures the recession has only just begun for some people.”

But the SNP’s Scottish enterprise minister Jim Mather attacked the UK Government, saying the figures showed now was not the time to cut back on measures to stimulate the economy.

In Dundee, some 5188 people were claiming JSA last month, a rise of 372 on December. That means that one in every 17 working-age people in the city is jobless and on benefits.

The problem is particularly bad among men, with the city having the sixth-highest rate of male unemployment out of 32 Scottish local authorities.

Angus has seen its claimant count rise by 219 to 2388 — one in 27 working-age people. However, its jobless rate remains below the national average.

In Perth and Kinross, which traditionally has one of the lowest jobless rates, the claimant count rose by 287 to 2337 — one in 37 working-age people.

There were 10,776 people on JSA in Fife last month, a rise of 816 on January’s figure — meaning one in 21 Fife workers is out of a job. This is the worst figure for at least four years.

The region has been hit hard by job losses in recent months, with 100 jobs going at Torith Ltd in Newport, around 93 posts axed in the closure of KT Hartwell Ltd and around 40 jobs cut at BI Technologies, both in Glenrothes.

Violeta Ilendo, development manager at Fife Council, said she expected things to improve as the recovery began to have an impact.

The Scottish figures show the claimant count has risen by more than 36,000 over the past year and total unemployment — which includes people not on JSA — is now 206,000.

The jobless rate is now 7.6%, slightly below the UK average.

Labour Force Survey data show the number of people in employment in Scotland from October to December 2009 was 2,492,000 — 73.5% of the working-age population and a drop of 1.8% on the same quarter in 2008.

Mr Murphy said, “I know many Scots are worried about losing their jobs or being put on short-time working and that’s why the British Government will work night and day to help people back into work.

“There is no doubt if the government had taken no action that unemployment would now be much higher in Scotland than it is today.”

But Mr Mather said that among the world’s leading economies, the UK was the only one to withdraw fiscal stimulus measures this year.

“Today’s figures clearly demonstrate the compelling case for an economic stimulus package in the UK. Recovery is fragile and now is not the time for the Westminster government to turn off the tap,” he said.

Mr Mather said Chancellor Alistair Darling had been wrong to ignore SNP calls for more capital spending projects to be brought forward.

Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congressgeneral secretary, said the figures represented “very bad news for Scotland”.

“Politicians should desist from unhelpful comparisons between the performance of the UK and Scottish labour markets,” he said. “Instead they must redouble efforts to keep people in work and assist those currently out of work.

“A good start would be to drop the auction of virtue on public spending cuts.

“With the economy and labour market so fragile, it is almost certain that swingeing cuts would provoke a double-dip recession, if not a full- blown depression.

“Those who propose such economic masochism are apparently content for the mistakes of previous recessions to be repeated. It will be communities across Scotland that will have to live with the consequences.”