14/10/2009

Employment Hits 7.9%

Unemployment in the UK hit 7.9% in the three months to August, the latest figures have revealed.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefit increased by 88,000 to 2.47 million from the May-July quarter.

However, the increase is the smallest since May last year.

The figures also revealed that the number of people aged between 16 - 24 who were unemployed rose to 946,000.

Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper said that unemployment remained a "serious problem" even though the rise wasn't as high as expected, while Paul Kenny, General Secretary of the GMB union said that the figures showed "some tentative signs of a very fragile recovery in the economy".

(KMcA/BMcc)

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