Unemployment rises to 2.38 million

Wednesday 15th July 2009

Unemployment in the UK rose to 2.38 million in the three months ending in May.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a further 281,000 people lost their jobs in the last quarter.

The increase is the biggest quarterly rise since records began.

The number of people claiming jobseekers allowance rose by 23,800 in June to a total of 1.56 million, a slightly lower increase than had been predicted.

Responding to the figures, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Today's figures are truly horrendous.

"The people who have lost their jobs this month and who fear they will in months to come are not talking of recovery or green shoots.

"It's particularly worrying that over half a million unemployed people have been out of work for at least a year, including 133,000 young unemployed people. With a new generation of school and college leavers soon starting to look for work, our unemployment crisis will get even bigger."

He also criticised calls for deep public expenditure cuts, claiming they were not the way to fight the escalating unemployment problem. ADNFCR-1783-ID-19265767-ADNFCR

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