The number of Britons claiming jobless benefit rose by 24,400 in August, broadly as expected. The rate of unemployment on the wider ILO measure also rose to its highest since 1996, official data show today.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobseekers allowance rose to 1.607 million in August, the highest since May 1997.
However, last month's rise was below a 25,200 increase in July and less than a quarter of the increases seen at the start of this year.
The number of Britons out of work on the ILO measure rose by 210,000 in the three months to July, taking the jobless rate up to 7.9% - the highest since late 1996. However, that was no worse than expected.
UK policymakers have warned that unemployment is likely to keep rising even as economic conditions stabilise.
The impact of the recession may also have been muted by workers' willingness to accept lower wages or shorter working hours to preserve their jobs.
This trend has been coming through in the official data, with average earnings growth including bonuses easing to 1.7% in the three months to July from 2.5% in the three months to June. In July alone, pay growth fell to 1% from 1.9% in June.
Earnings growth, excluding bonuses, fell to 2.2% in the three-month period, the lowest since records began in 2001.
Meanwhile, the jobless rate for Northern Ireland at 6.7% is slightly lower than the UK average of almost 8%, possibly reflecting the high level of public sector employment in the North.
But the biggest impact of this recession in the UK has been among the young, where almost a fifth of 16 to 24 year olds are now out of work.
