Jobless rate hits 17-year high

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased for the 12th month in a row, up by 7,200 in February to 1.6 million, the worst figure since the end of 2009.

But the number of people in work increased by 9,000 in the quarter to January to 29.1 million, while the 28,000 increase in unemployment was the lowest for almost a year.

The Yorkshire figure was 9,000 up on the previous quarter, at 261,000 or 9.8 per cent.

Other figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector employment fell by 37,000 in the final quarter of 2011 to just under six million, while the numbers employed in private firms increased by 45,000 to 23 million.

Public sector employment has fallen by 270,000 in the past year following the Government’s spending cuts.

Local government employment fell by 33,000 in the last three months of 2011, central Government by 3,000 and Civil Service by 9,000.

Youth unemployment increased by 16,000 to reach 1.04 million, a jobless rate of 22.5%, while the number of unemployed women jumped by 22,000 to 1.13 million.

Average earnings increased by 1.4% in the year to January, down by 0.5% on the previous month.

In the public sector the figure fell from 1.7% to 1.3%, the lowest since comparable records began in 2001.

The number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 110,000 to 1.3 million, the highest since records began in 1992.

Part-time employment rose by 60,000 to 6.6 million, while self-employment fell by 52,000 to just over four million.

The unemployment rate is now 8.4%, up by 0.1% from the previous quarter, the highest since the end of 1995.

Matt Gascoigne, executive director at recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, said: “Today’s employment figures have continued to paint a bleak picture for the UK workforce.

“Unsurprisingly, the public sector is bearing a considerable brunt of the pain with the austerity measures continuing to take their toll.

“This has been further highlighted in our close dealing with the public sector where we have seen the housing sector hit the hardest.

“The trend for employers to be ever more picky about skills and experience shows no sign of abating, making the process of finding work much tougher for job seekers in both the public and private sectors.”

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: “These figures show that the UK economy is in a hole being dug deeper by the deflationary policies which derailed the recovery the Government inherited.”

He added that next week’s Budget was an opportunity for George Osborne “to stop digging, and it must not be missed”.

“Instead of cutting wages in real terms and increasing pensions contributions for millions of public sector workers to cut the deficit, the Chancellor should look instead to stop tax evasion and tax avoidance which could bring in billions every year.”

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: “This is a more encouraging set of figures, with signs that the labour market is stabilising, but there is clearly still a big challenge ahead to bring down unemployment and get people back to work.

“The international economic outlook remains difficult but we will do everything we can to help the unemployed find jobs.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said there were about 45,000 fewer people claiming out of work benefits compared with May 2010, adding that the number of people classed as economically inactive fell again this quarter, down by 27,000.

Unemployment in the UK remains below the European Union average while employment remains above the EU average, the department pointed out.

Andrew Sissons, researcher at the Work Foundation, said: “There are very few signs of the job market picking up in the new year, despite hopes that the economy has turned a corner.

“The economy added just 9,000 new jobs in the last three months, not enough to prevent a further rise in unemployment. We need to be creating tens of thousands of jobs every quarter if unemployment is to begin falling.

“The private sector has been replacing the jobs lost in the public sector, but the private recovery is nowhere near strong enough.”

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said: “Britain’s jobs crisis shows no signs of letting up, yet complacent ministers are failing to act.

“The surge in women’s unemployment is reaching shocking levels but instead of helping more families into work, next month’s cuts to tax credits are set to make thousands better off if they quit their jobs and start claiming out of work benefits.”

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “With economic pressures facing both the UK and the eurozone, these figures are disappointing but unsurprising. One positive feature is that the increase in unemployment was the smallest since the three months to May 2011.”