Unemployment rises once more

Unemployment rose by 23,000 on the main official count, the Office for National Statistics said.

Under the Labour Force Survey, it reached 2.47 million in the three-month period ending April compared with the previous period ending January.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the figures “should serve as a stark reminder to the government that the jobs market is still bleak”. And he warned the government that “the worst possible response” would be to slash spending, cutting demand in the economy and sending hundreds of thousands of workers on to the dole.

The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% from 7.8% in the three-month period ending January.

Male unemployment was up by 5,000 to 1.52 million and their unemployment rate was steady at 9.0%. Meanwhile, the number of jobless women rose by 18,000 to 956,000 and their unemployment rate was up to 6.6% from 6.5% previously.

The claimant count, which only includes those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, posted a fourth consecutive monthly fall.

In May, it fell by 30,900 to 1.48 million and the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.7% the previous month.

It is the first time the claimant count has been below 1.5 million since March 2009.