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UK unemployment total rises again UK unemployment total rises again
(10 minutes later)
The number of people out of work in the UK rose by another 81,000 between May and July, to 1.72 million, according to government figures.The number of people out of work in the UK rose by another 81,000 between May and July, to 1.72 million, according to government figures.
That took the official unemployment rate up from 5.3% to 5.5%.That took the official unemployment rate up from 5.3% to 5.5%.
The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance also rose, by 32,500 to 904,900 in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance also rose, by 32,500 to 904,900 in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
In a further sign of the economic slowdown, the number of people in work and the number of vacancies both fell.In a further sign of the economic slowdown, the number of people in work and the number of vacancies both fell.
The rise in the headline rate of unemployment took it to its highest level since early 1999.
The increase in the claimant count was the seventh in a row and was the biggest monthly rise since December 1992 - during the UK's last economic recession.
The past few months have seen a steady flow of big redundancy announcements at employers such as Ford, XL holidays, most major house builders, and financial services companies affected by the credit crunch, such as mortgage lenders and credit card issuers.
The ONS said that in the three months to July, the number of people in work fell by 16,000 from the previous quarter, to 29.54 million, though this was still 333,000 higher than a year ago.
Likewise, the employment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter to 74.7%, but this was still 0.2 percentage points higher than during the same period last year.