The number of unemployed Britons has risen to its highest level for 17 years as the slowdown in the economy weighs further on the labor market and dims the outlook for consumer demand, official data showed Wednesday.
Although there was a smaller-than-expected increase in the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance unemployment benefit—the most up-to-date measure of joblessness—in November, the total number of claimants hit its highest level for almost two years.
The claimant count rose by 3,000 in November to 1.6 million, while the claimant count rate held steady at 5.0% for a third consecutive month, the Office for National Statistics said.
According to the more comprehensive but less up-to-date International Labor Organization measure, unemployment rose by 128,000 in the three months to October to 2.64 million, the highest level since the three months to September 1994. The jobless rate rose to 8.3%, the highest since the three months to January 1996.
Economists were expecting the claimant count to rise 14,700 and the claimant rate to hit 5.1% in November, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey last week. The increase in the ILO unemployment rate was in line with expectations.
The figures are a fresh blow for Prime Minister David Cameron, whose coalition government had hoped the private sector would help offset the hundreds of thousands of job cuts it is making in the public sector as part of its tough austerity program.
The data also support the bleaker growth outlook outlined at the end of last month by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the body that provides the government with economic analysis. It said the economy would slow more than previously expected in coming years and unemployment would soar to 8.7% in 2012.
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