Unemployment figures inch up

Unemployment rose on the preferred official count, according to the latest figures. Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count it was marginally up by 6,000 to 1.67 million in the third quarter of 2007 compared with the previous quarter.

The LFS count includes people not eligible for benefits. The unemployment rate was 5.4%. There were 950,000 unemployed men under the count — a 5.7% rate — and 717,000 women — a 5.1% rate.

However, unemployment under the claimant count, which only includes those drawing Jobseeker’s Allowance, fell for the thirteenth successive month — this time by 9,900 — to stand at 824,800 in October.

The unemployment rate under this count was 2.6%. The number of unemployed men on benefit was down to 601,600 with an unemployment rate of 3.5% — and the number of unemployed women was down to 223,200 with the rate steady at 1.5%.

Manufacturing lost 39,000 jobs in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period a year ago, and employment in the sector was down to 2.95 million — the lowest total on record.

In the three months to September, 134,000 people said they had been made redundant. This is up 14,000 on the previous three months but down 7,000 on a year ago.