Unemployment levels soar

A total of 8.4 per cent of the working population is jobless, Office of National Statistics figures reveal

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed more doom and gloom as the jobless total hit a new high for the fourth quarter of 2011.

According to ONS figures, the number of people out of work hit 2.67 million, an increase of 48,000 on the quarter, equating to 8.4 per cent of the economically active population.

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 70.3 per cent, a measly 0.1 per cent increase on the previous quarter.

In total this meant there were 29.13 million people in employment aged 16 and over, or 60,000 more than the previous quarter.

In addition, an increasing number of people are working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs – an 83,0000 increase over the previous quarter to 1.35 million.

Average pay increased by two per cent in the year ended 31 December – no change from the previous month, although in the public sector it fell by 0.2 per cent.

Conversely, the number of job vacancies increased by 11,000 to a total of 476,000, although this was down 21,000 on the year-ago figure.