Unemployment hits highest level for 11 years

The total number out of work has climbed to 1.825 million - the most since November 1997, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics. The number of unemployed people rose by 140,000 in the three months to September, leaving the unemployment rate up 0.4 per cent to 5.8 per cent. Last month’s figures, for the three months to August, saw the unemployment total rise by 164,000 - the biggest increase for 17 years. Vicky Redwood, an economist for Capital Economics, said that the true current situation was already much worse than the new figures suggested and estimated that the total would reach 3.3 million by 2010.