ONS statistics show another increase in unemployment levels by 281,000, to 2.38million in the three months to May. This is an increase of 7.6%, the highest for over 10years.

Unemployment benefit claimants rose by nearly 24,000 in June, reaching 1.56million. This, overall, is still less that was predicted by analysts.

Particularly hit are young people, due to companies cut back on intake in order to reduce costs. Unemployment in the under24s is at a 16year high of 726,000.

People who have been looking for work for at least a year also increased in an 11year high to 528,000.

A TUC representative said: “It’s particularly worrying that over half a million unemployed people have been out of work for at last a year, including 133,000young unemployed people.

Conflicting Signals
“With a new generation of school and college leavers soon starting to look for work, our unemployment crisis will get even bigger.”

Two-thirds of people across Britain know at least one person that has lost their job due to the recession according to an independent survey.

Another study says that, two-fifths of people also worry about losing their job in the recession.

The economy may be stabilising, but economists still expect unemployment to continue rising.

Vicky Redwood of Capital Economics explained how the figures show there to be “conflicting signals about whether conditions in the labour market are getting better or worse.”

Biggest Quarterly Rise

The new total of unemployed in the quarter up to May is the biggest quarterly rise since records began in 1971.

But, the rise in unemployment benefit claimants is less than expected.

Vicky Redwood said: “The claimant count measure of unemployment in June posted its smallest rise in a year. However, the wider ILO measure posted its biggest rise on record.”

The government are using the ILO figure, which states that 2.38million people are unemployed because it apparently takes into mind a better indicator of the job market.

Unemployment may be at a high, but so are earnings including bonuses, which rose by 2.3% in the quarter up to May which is the highest since December.

Higher Peak Still Predicted

But it seems that bonuses are what makes up the pay increase. When excluded, average earnings only increased by 2.6% which is the lowest rate since the data began to be collected in 2001.

The chief economist for the BCC said that the figured were “grim reading.”

“On the basis of these numbers, we reaffirm our forecast that unemployment will peak at around 3.1million next year,” he said.

Unfortunately, as unemployment rises, the number of job vacancies falls. In the three months leading to June, vacancies decreased by 30,000compared to just the previous quarter.

There is also a gender difference. The number of unemployed men rose by nearly 200,000to reach 1.46 million, compared to a rise of 84,000unemployed women, which makes a total of 107,000.

Wales actually saw a decrease of unemployment. In the 3 month, 1,000 fewer people were unemployed, bringing their total to 107,000 unemployed.

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