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Unemployment rises by 7,000

Unemployment rose by 7,000 between November and January, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Over the same period there was a fall in the number of people “not in the labour force,” resulting in more people in employment, and an increase in unemployment.

There was a 131,000 rise in the number of people in work and 71.5% of all people aged 16 to 64 were working.

The percentage of people available for work and seeking a job was 7.8%. Youth unemployment rose to 993,000 over the three month period, as the youth unemployment rate hit 21.2%.

The number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance remained relatively flat between January and February 2013, with a small fall of 1,500.

Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said: “This month’s figures continue the trend that we have seen for the last year or so. The number of people employed has increased again to record levels - although the employment rate still remains below its pre-recession peak - and this has happened during a period when we have seen little evidence of economic growth. The number of unemployed people has increased slightly but this could be the result of welfare to work changes intensifying job search activity among those out of work and claiming benefits, and in the long term this should be beneficial to the economy by boosting labour supply.

“One of the explanations as to why employment has continued to grow is the declining real value of earnings. The annual rate of growth of average earnings was 1.2% in January, which was 1.5 percentage points below the rate of inflation. As a result, those in work continue to see their living standards squeezed.

“It will be interesting to see whether the forecast accompanying today’s Budget from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility anticipates employment growth on this scale to continue when economic growth resumes, or whether they expect productivity to increase and more moderate rates of employment growth.”

Bernard Brown, partner and head of business consulting at KPMG Management Consulting, said: “For six months the jobs figures defied logic, but the bubble of optimism that they created has now burst. With High Street store closures never far from recent headlines and fears about a triple-dip recession gaining traction every day, the rise in the number of people looking for work is unsurprising - but still disappointing - news. Yet, with almost 30 million people in employment the hope must be that today’s figures are little more than a short-term blip.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .