DAVID Cameron was yesterday challenged over where he thinks a North East woman’s place is after a Tyneside MP warned of soaring female joblessness.

Newcastle North Labour MP Catherine McKinnell took the Prime Minister to task in the Commons as the latest set of depressing unemployment figures were released.

Unemployment in the North East rose by 11,000 in the three months to November, official figures showed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed 153,000 people were unemployed in the region between September and November.

The region’s unemployment rate was 12% ... by far the highest in the country. Unemployment for women was up by 1.4 percentage points on the previous quarter compared to 0.2 percentage points for men.

Nationwide, unemployment reached a 17-year high after a 118,000 increase which saw a record number of young people out of work.

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Ms McKinnell said: “In the North East, unemployment amongst women is rising at twice the rate of men.

“Where does the Prime Minister think the woman’s place is? In the home, in the workplace or the job centre?”

Mr Cameron said there had been a “disappointing” increase in female unemployment, but insisted he wanted to see many more women have the opportunity to join the workplace.

“If you actually look since the election there are 59,000 more women in work today than there were at the time of the last election,” said the Prime Minister.

“But I’m not satisfied with that. That is why we are boosting childcare for two- year-olds, three-year-olds and four-year- olds, to help women into work. We’re introducing universal credit support for all women with childcare who work, not just those who work over 16 hours.”

He added: “By lifting over a million people out of tax, the majority of whom are women, that also helps women into the workforce.”