Unemployment in Britain jumped by 220,000 in the three months to June to 2.435 million, official data showed today, the highest level since 1995.

The Office for National Statistics said that the jobless rate was now 7.8% of the workforce – the highest since 1996, before Labour came to power.

The figures also showed a huge 271,000 drop in the number of people in work – the biggest fall since records began in 1971, although there was a similar fall in the February to April period this year.

The ONS also reported a relatively small rise of 25,000 in the number of people claiming job seeker’s allowance. Under that measure there are now 1.58 million people claiming benefit, equivalent to 4.9% of the workforce which is the highest rate since October 1997.

There is now widespread suspicion among experts that the claimant count figures are not representing the true state of joblessness since many unemployed people are unable to claim benefit. Yesterday the Department for Work and Pensions announced an inquiry into the recent divergence between the two measures of unemployment.

Source/Full Story: guardian.co.uk

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