15th October 2008
Unemployment rose by 164,000 between June and August, leaving 1.79 million people out of work, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The latest figures show that the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points in the last quarter to 5.7% - the largest rise since 1991, and taking the number of unemployed to its highest since 1998 when 1.8 million were out of work.
In addition, the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance rose by 31,800 in the last month, with the total now standing at 939,900; 147,000 people reported that they had been made redundant in the three months to August.
This comes against a backdrop of a 40,000 fall in job vacancies over the three months to September, and the news that inflation has hit a 16-year high of 5.2%.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, called on the Government to maintain public spending to drive the "real" economy forward.
"My fear is that we are going to see unemployment rise pretty sharply, in that we haven't seen the implications of the financial crisis yet fully worked through the rest of the economy," he said.
"We need some longer term thinking too about the type of economy we are trying to build.
"We've been over-reliant on financial services - we've been paying court to the sector far too much."
John Cridland, CBI director-general, said that although the figures are worse than expected, changes in the economy since the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s mean unemployment would be less severe this time around.
"The UK labour market is much more flexible and the recent moderation in pay settlements will help," he added.
IMAGEDave Thompson/PA Archive/PA Photos
Unemployment soars to ten-year high
The latest figures show that the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points in the last quarter to 5.7% - the largest rise since 1991, and taking the number of unemployed to its highest since 1998 when 1.8 million were out of work.
In addition, the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance rose by 31,800 in the last month, with the total now standing at 939,900; 147,000 people reported that they had been made redundant in the three months to August.
This comes against a backdrop of a 40,000 fall in job vacancies over the three months to September, and the news that inflation has hit a 16-year high of 5.2%.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, called on the Government to maintain public spending to drive the "real" economy forward.
"My fear is that we are going to see unemployment rise pretty sharply, in that we haven't seen the implications of the financial crisis yet fully worked through the rest of the economy," he said.
"We need some longer term thinking too about the type of economy we are trying to build.
"We've been over-reliant on financial services - we've been paying court to the sector far too much."
John Cridland, CBI director-general, said that although the figures are worse than expected, changes in the economy since the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s mean unemployment would be less severe this time around.
"The UK labour market is much more flexible and the recent moderation in pay settlements will help," he added.
IMAGEDave Thompson/PA Archive/PA Photos
Tags: Employment
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