Jobless women at 23-year high

The latest unemployment figures show that the number of unemployed women increased by 21,000 in the second quarter of the year to reach 1.05 million — the highest figure since the three months to May 1988. Their unemployment rate was up to 7.2% from 7.0%.

The number of unemployed men rose by 18,000 to 1.45 million but their unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.4%.

Overall, unemployment under the Labour Force Survey count was up by 38,000 on the previous quarter to 2.49 million. The unemployment rate also rose to 7.9% from 7.7%.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the rise in unemployment “points to a worrying deterioration in the UK labour market” and with the recovery stagnating, “all the indicators point to further rises in joblessness”.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose for the fifth successive month to stand at 1.56 million in July. The monthly rise of 37,100 was the biggest increase for over two years.

The number of male claimants rose by 21,500 to 1.03 million and their jobless rate was up to 6.1% from 5.9%. Women claimant numbers have been on the rise since June 2010 and now stand at 512,700. The latest monthly rise of 15,600 was enough to push their jobless rate up to 3.5% from 3.4%.