The number of people out of work in the UK rose by another 164,000 between June and August, to 1.79 million, according to government figures.
The number of people out of work in the UK rose by another 164,000 between June and August, to 1.79 million, according to government figures.
The rise - the biggest since 1991 - took the official unemployment rate up from 5.5% to 5.7%.
The rise - the biggest since 1991 - took the official unemployment rate up from 5.5% to 5.7%.
Jobseeker's allowance claimants rose by 31,800 to 939,900 in September said the Office for National Statistics.
Jobseeker's allowance claimants rose by 31,800 to 939,900 in September said the Office for National Statistics.
In a further sign of the economic slowdown, the number of people in work and the number of vacancies both fell.
And average annual earnings growth slowed to 3.4% in the three months to August - the weakest in five years and a sign that headline inflation was not being reflected in wages. Unemployment is likely to rise, certainly above two million. The question is how much further than that John Philpott, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
The government is to make an extra £100m available to re-train workers who lose their jobs as the economy slows.
The government is to make an extra £100m available to re-train workers who lose their jobs as the economy slows.
The BBC's business correspondent Martin Shankleman said some economists were predicting that unemployment would rise to two million by Christmas.
And at least one forecast suggested it could reach three million by Christmas 2009, he added.
Jacqui Hay, recently unemployed: 'I have a panic attack once a week'
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said its surveys suggested the worst was still to come, with recruitment slowing and redundancies rising.
"It's simply that the crunch effect is intensifying, and will continue to intensify into next year," said the organisation's chief economist John Philpott.
"We'll see hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost, and unemployment is likely to rise, certainly above two million. The question is how much further than that."
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