Jobless tally hits 2.5m: Yorkshire UK's second worst blackspot

The jobless total climbed to 2.5 million in the quarter to October, a rate of 7.9%, the highest since the start of the year.

In Yorkshire it is higher still, standing at 9.3%.

There were 839,000 people unemployed for more than a year, up by 41,000 over the three months and the worst figure since 1997.

The Office for National Statistics also reported that the number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work increased by 28,000 to 943,000, one of the highest figures since records began in 1992, giving a jobless rate of 19.8%.

Male unemployment increased by 11,000 to 1.46 million, while the number of women out of work rose by 24,000 to 1.04 million, the highest total since 1988.

There was also a rise in the number of people classed as economically inactive, including people looking after a sick relative, students or those who have given up looking for a job, up by 22,000 to 9.29 million, a rate of 23.2%./

The category showing the biggest increase was those who have taken early retirement, which rose by 27,000 to 1.53 million.

The number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 46,000 to 1.16 million, a record high.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 1,200 last month to 1.46 million, although the number claiming for up to six months rose by 11,600 to 954,900.

There were 158,000 redundancies in the latest quarter, up by 15,000, the first rise since April.

Employment fell by 33,000 to 29.13 million, giving the first quarterly fall in the rate since April - down by 0.1% to 70.6%.

Average earnings increased by 2.2% in the year to October, up by 0.1% from the previous month.

Other figures showed that public sector employment has fallen by 33,000 to just over six million, including 18,000 in local government and 8,000 in the civil service.

Private firms employed 23.11 million workers, unchanged from the summer.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "These figures highlight the crucial importance of the action we are taking to keep the economy moving forward. It's essential to create a stable environment where businesses can flourish and create jobs - with those on benefits at the front of the queue to take them up.

"That's why we are increasing the support available to people through both Jobcentre Plus and our new Work Programme which will revolutionise the way in which we help the long-term unemployed into sustained employment. Only with a successful economy will we be able to finally get Britain working again."

GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said: "The billions pumped into the economy and the banks by the Labour government restarted the growth which we have seen so far this year to recover from the bankers' recession.

"Today's rise shows how much of an uphill struggle it is for the jobless to find work as there are three registered claimants chasing each job vacancy and the prospects are worse when all those looking for work but not on the register are added in.

"The Government are now taking money out of the economy and their policy is to cut the number of jobs in the public sector by one third of a million. The Government are ignoring the lessons of history, that it is not possible to deflate your way to growth and a balanced budget.

"There are troubled times ahead and a lot of families face a miserable Christmas and bleak prospects for 2011."

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Unemployment increased by 55,000 in October - the sharpest monthly increase since May 2009.

"The number of people out of work has passed the grim milestone of 2.5 million before the Government's austerity measures have even started to take effect. The jobs outlook in the coming years looks increasingly bleak.

"The big fall in full-time employment - partly hidden by rising involuntary part-time work - is particularly alarming as these are the kind of jobs we so desperately need to get our economy growing again.

"Government support for the unemployed may have ended but our jobs crisis certainly hasn't."

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "The Government's policies are clearly not working. The private sector is not coming to the rescue. Behind these figures are families struggling to get by, landed with a bitter blow of unemployment - some Christmas present from this Government.

"Worse is still to come, when the hundreds of thousands of job losses in the public sector, particularly in local government, start hitting home.

"There is another way, but the Government is ideologically driven to cut back on our public services, whatever the consequences."

John Walker, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "With inflation expected to remain above 3% in the foreseeable future, combined with public sector job cuts, these unemployment statistics are a worrying sign. Small firms expect to take on seasonal workers over the Christmas period - the busiest time of year for any business.

"But if these are to be made into permanent jobs they really need the Government to give them a Christmas present by extending the National Insurance holiday to existing firms and raising the threshold at which businesses start paying VAT when the rise hits in January. Small business owners need encouragement to take on new members of staff in 2011 in order to reverse this worrying trend."