Shock rise in jobless claimants as more women out of work

The so-called claimant count increased by 12,400 last month to 1.47 million, the largest increase in 16 months, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists were expecting a decline of between 4,000 and 10,000.

The number of women claiming JSA increased by 9,300 to 474,400, the highest level since October 1996, while the number of male claimants increased by 3,100 to 994,200.

The surge in the female claimant count came as more single mothers switched from income support to JSA, due to changes to benefit rules introduced in 2008, the ONS said.

Elsewhere, unemployment fell by 36,000 in the quarter to March to 2.455 million, a rate of 7.7%, down by 0.1% on the quarter.

Economists warned that unemployment is likely to head up over the coming months, despite the improvement seen in today’s figures, as the Government’s austerity measures bite.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, has forecast unemployment to increase to 2.67 million by the end of this year.

He said: “We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector that will result from the fiscal squeeze that is now really kicking in.”

The number of jobless 16 to 24-year-olds decreased by 30,000 over the quarter to 935,000.

The number of jobless 16 to 17-year-olds decreased by 1,000 on the quarter to 211,000 while the number of unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds fell by 29,000 to 724,000.

The improved figures come just days after the Government unveiled a £60 million package aimed at boosting work prospects for the youth sector.

The number of unemployed men fell by 31,000 on the quarter to reach 1.43 million, while the number of unemployed women fell by 5,000 to reach 1.03 million.

Employment has increased, showing a 118,000 rise on the quarter to 29.24 million, but the figure is still 332,000 lower than the pre-recession peak reached in May 2008.

The latest increase was driven by full-time employment, which rose by 94,000 on the quarter to reach 21.3 million.

Total average weekly earnings, including bonuses, increased by 2.3% in the year to March, the ONS said, a slight improvement on the year to February.

A toxic combination of muted wage growth and soaring inflation has clamped down on household spending power in recent months and the knock-on effect is hitting all sectors of the economy.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling welcomed today’s figures.

He said: “These are welcome figures showing another rise in full-time employment in the private sector.

“It’s good news to see that unemployment is also going in the right direction and pleasing that unemployment has fallen for young people.

“We’re determined to tackle youth unemployment, which is why we’ve taken steps to ensure that young people get the best possible support to get back to work, including lining up thousands of employers to provide work experience places and introducing apprenticeship places.

“From next month our new Work Programme will be available for people of all ages who need extra tailored support to get into jobs.”