The biggest rise in unemployment for nearly two years provided further evidence today of a worsening British economy.
The number of people out of work in the UK rose by 38,000 to 1.64 million between February and April, the biggest rise since July 2006.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the worst-hit employment sectors this year have been the manufacturing and financial services areas, which shed 11,000 and 20,000 jobs respectively during the first three months.
In another sign of pressure from the economic slowdown, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by 9,000 last month to 819,300. This is the fourth consecutive monthly rise - the first time that has happened for two years.
There was also a dip in the rate of average earnings increase, which fell 0.2 percentage points to 3.8% during the year to April. The figure was 4% during the year to March.
Manufacturing jobs continued to reach a record low, down 33,000 in the latest quarter to 2.89 million, the worst since comparable records began in 1978.
