Joblessness continues to rise

Under the Labour Force Survey count, unemployment was up once more — by 28,000 to 2.67 million in the three months ending January 2012 compared with the previous three-month period.

The unemployment rate rose to 8.4% from 8.3% in the three months ending October 2011. The rate was last higher than 8.4% in October 1995.

Women accounted for most of the rise with another 22,000 added to the unemployment total, taking their total to 1.13 million. Their unemployment rate rose to 7.7% from 7.5%.

The number of unemployed men rose by 5,000 to 1.54 million, but their unemployment rate was steady at 9.0%.

The youth unemployment figures continue to make grim reading.

There were 1.04 million unemployed people aged between 16 and 24 — a record unemployment rate for them of 22.5%.

The claimant count rose for the 14th consecutive month. The count, which only includes those on Jobseeker’s Allowance, rose by 6,900 to 1.6 million. However, the joblessness rate remained at 5.0%.

The number of male claimants rose to 1.08 million, while female claimant numbers reached 531,100.

The joblessness rate was steady for both men and women at 6.2% and 3.6% respectively.