Unemployment hits three-year high

There was gloom on the jobless front as unemployment rose on both official counts.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed it rising by 111,000 to 1.53 million in the three months to November compared with the previous quarter. This is its highest level since the end of 2002. The LFS is the government's preferred measure and includes people not eligible for benefits.

The unemployment rate was 5.0% - up from 4.7% for the previous quarter. The number of unemployed men rose by 58,000 to 900,000 (a 5.5% rate) while the number of unemployed women rose by 53,000 to 628,000 women (a 4.5% rate).

The claimant count, which only includes those drawing Jobseekers' Allowance, rose for the 11th consecutive month to 909,000 in December - a rise of 7,200 on November.

The unemployment rate under this count was unchanged at 2.9%. The number of unemployed men on benefit rose to 674,300 (a 4.0% rate), and the number of unemployed women rose to 234,800 (a 1.6% rate).

Manufacturing jobs fell by 109,000 to 3.1 million in the three months to November compared to a year earlier - a decline of 3.4%.

The number of people who said they had been made redundant in the three months to November was 140,000 - down 12,000 on the previous quarter.