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| UK unemployment continues to climb | UK unemployment continues to climb |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the three months to December, official figures have shown. | UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the three months to December, official figures have shown. |
| href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2012/statistical-bulletin.html" >The unemployment rate was 8.4%, the Office for National Statistics said, the highest for 16 years. | |
| The number of young people without a job rose 22,000 to 1.04m, taking the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds to 22.2%. | |
| The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in January increased by 6,900 to 1.6 million. | |
| The number of job vacancies rose to 476,000 in the three months to January. | The number of job vacancies rose to 476,000 in the three months to January. |
| The ONS data also showed that average earnings increased by 2% in the year to December, unchanged from the previous month. | The ONS data also showed that average earnings increased by 2% in the year to December, unchanged from the previous month. |
| That figure lags well below the rate of inflation and indicates a continued squeeze on spending power. | That figure lags well below the rate of inflation and indicates a continued squeeze on spending power. |
| Earlier this week, official figures showed the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 3.6% in January, from 4.2% in December. | Earlier this week, official figures showed the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 3.6% in January, from 4.2% in December. |
| Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics, said: "We continue to expect unemployment to rise much further in response to the weakness in the wider economy. | Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics, said: "We continue to expect unemployment to rise much further in response to the weakness in the wider economy. |
| "At least with inflation falling, the squeeze on real pay is easing. But it won't be for a few months yet until real pay actually starts to rise again." | "At least with inflation falling, the squeeze on real pay is easing. But it won't be for a few months yet until real pay actually starts to rise again." |
| Despite the continued rise in unemployment, the proportion of the workforce in paid work also rose. | |
| The employment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points in the three months to December to 70.3%, although this rate was still 0.2 percentage points lower than a year ago. | |
| It means the number of people in jobs rose by 60,000 in the last three months the year to 29,130,000. | |
| The apparent contradicton is explained by the fact that the number of people classified as economically inactive has dropped. | |
| Their number fell by 78,000 to 9.29 million. | |
| This included a drop in the number of people categorised as long term sick or retired who went back into the workforce. | |
| Are you looking for work? Please get in contact if you are willing to talk to the BBC about your experiences of unemployment. | Are you looking for work? Please get in contact if you are willing to talk to the BBC about your experiences of unemployment. |