Surprise rise in UK unemployment

17 August 2011 Last updated at 05:37 ET

The claimant count has risen for three months in succession

The UK unemployment total rose unexpectedly in the three months to June, by 38,000 to 2.49m.

Unemployment is at its highest level since February 2010, and the jobless rate has risen to 7.9%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by 37,100 in July to 1.56 million, its biggest increase since May 2009.

The claimant count has now risen for three months in a row.

The increase in unemployment came as a surprise to economists, as most had predicted a further fall in the number of people without work.

‘Hiring reluctance’

Daniel Callaghan, a director at global recruitment group MBA, said the latest figures from the ONS painted a “bleaker picture of the [UK] economy”.

“The UK jobs market has been in dire straits over the last few weeks,” he said.

“Banking sector recruitment has been frozen and confidence is low in the business market. There is a distinct reluctance among many firms to take on skilled, full-time employees.”

The official figures also showed that the th unemployment rate rose to 20.2% in the three months to June, up from 20% in the quarter to March.

There were 949,000 16 to 24-year-olds without work, a rise of 15,000.

The ONS reported last month that the rate of UK economic growth had slowed in the three months to 30 June.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of the year, down from the 0.5% growth rate recorded between January and March.

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