UK Unemployment hits highest since 1997

by Dave Keating | November 12, 2008 at 05:17 am

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UK unemployment has hit its highest level since 1997, according to a report issued today. Additioanlly, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose to its highest level since 1992.

The Office for National Statistics said the Labour Force Survey - the broadest measure of joblessness - showed a rise of 140,000 in the third quarter of the year to a total of 1.825 million, the highest level since the final quarter of 1997.

The jobless rate on that measure rose to 5.8%, the highest since the first quarter of 2000.

Meanwhile, the claimant count - a narrow measure which only counts those drawing unemployment benefit - leapt 36,500 in October to 980,900, the biggest rise since December 1992 and one which took the jobless rate up to 3%. It also marked the ninth consecutive monthly rise.

There was more bad news as the total number of people in work fell by 99,000 in the three months to September to a total of 29.4 million.