TUC looks for interest rate hike

December saw unemployment rise for the third month in succession. The claimant count - the number of people out of work and claiming benefit - rose by 3,200 to 963,500. The unemployment rate was steady at 3.2% of the workforce.

There were 730,500 male claimants (a 4.5% rate) and 233,000 women (a 1.7% rate).

The count based on the government's preferred ILO measure rose by 15,000 in the three months to November to 1,522,000 - an unemployment rate of 5.1%.

Most of the job losses have come in the beleaguered manufacturing sector. National Statistics figures show that that employment in manufacturing fell by 146,000, or 3.7%, to 3,776,000 in the three months to November compared to the same period a year ago.

John Monks, TUC general secretary, in response to the unemployment figures, said: "With unemployment now up for the third consecutive month and new figures today showing nearly 20,000 manufacturing jobs going in November alone, the Bank of England needs to be prepared to cut interest rates again."

He called for the forthcoming Budget to be focused clearly on manufacturing.