The number of people out of work in the UK has risen to its highest level in 14 years, official figures have shown.

Unemployment increased by 210,000 to 2.47m in the three months to July, taking the jobless rate to 7.9%, the Office for National Statistics said. Claims for unemployment benefit in August grew by 24,400 from July to 1.61m, the highest since May 1997.

There have been signs the UK economy is beginning to pick up, but jobless data tends to lag behind other measures. Average earnings, including bonuses, increased by 1.7% in the three months to July, down from the previous month.

The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work rose from 928,000 to 947,000 - edging closer to the landmark of one million and adding to fears of a new "lost generation" of young people. The jobless rate among this age group is at 19.7% - the highest since records began - meaning almost one in five is looking for work.

'Extended period'

The level of unemployment is now at its highest since May 1995 and employment minister Jim Knight said the government was doing all it could to get people back into work.

Jim Knight on unemployment figures
"We've got to make sure that as we get back into growth, we grow jobs as well. That's why we need an active government committed to tackling work, to tackling joblessness," he said

And Mr Knight added that an OECD Employment Outlook - which praised some UK government initiatives to help the unemployed - suggested the UK had lower than average rates of unemployment than the G7 and the EU.

"However, we know things will still be tough for some time and unemployment is likely to keep increasing, even once the economy starts growing again - that's why it's critical that we continue investing in people's future and don't just abandon them."

Conservative leader David Cameron said that unemployment approaching 2.5 million was "extremely depressing".

"What we need to do is make sure our welfare system is working in every way it can, to help people get jobs, to help people get back into work, to give them the training that they need," he said
 
Source: news.bbc.co.uk