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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Unemployment continues its rise | Unemployment continues its rise |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The number of people out of work rose by 137,000 to 1.86 million in the three months to October -the highest level since 1997. | |
| This took the unemployment rate up to 6% and up from 5.8% previously, the Office for National Statistics said | |
| People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in November rose 75,700 to 1.07 million - the largest rise since March 1991. | People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in November rose 75,700 to 1.07 million - the largest rise since March 1991. |
| Several companies have announced big job cuts as the economic downturn begins to hit hard. | |
| "Obviously very, very weak. I think what's interesting is the scale of job losses this early in the cycle," said George Buckley, an economist at Deutsche Bank. | |
| "Unemployment is normally a lagging indicator so to see so many job losses this early in the cycle is extremely worrying." | |
| The pound hit another record low against the euro after the unemployment data underscored just how weak the UK economy is. | |
| The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose for a tenth consecutive month and climbed above the one million mark for the first time in eight years. | |
| HSBC, Leyland and Spanish bank Santander, which runs Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and parts of Bradford & Bingley, are among the many firms to have announced job cuts in recent months | |
| Blameless victims | |
| The trades union umbrella body the TUC has predicted two million people will be out of work by Christmas, and says half a million people will be facing their second Christmas out of work. | |
| It is calling for Jobseeker's Allowance to be raised from £60.50 to £75 a week. | |
| "These people are not scroungers. They are blameless victims of a worldwide economic downturn and deserve to be treated as such," said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. | |
| "As well as more support to get back into work, unemployed people need more immediate financial support to help them cope with life on the dole." | |
| Managers are expected to be hit hard by job cuts, with the Management Consultancies Association forecasting up to 360,000 will lose their jobs by 2010. | |
| The government is to unveil a new training scheme for the unemployed. | |
| It has allocated £158m to help those who have been made redundant develop new skills. | |
| The fund is supposed to make it easier for workers to get advice on training and support employers who want to improve the skills of their staff. |