Official figures show that the number of British people out of work and claiming benefit rose for an eleventh consecutive month in December. The jump of 77,900 in was slightly less than analysts had forecast. The total number out of work approached the two million mark.
The Office for National Statistics said the broader ILO measure of unemployment, which includes those out of work but not claiming benefit, rose to 6.1%, its highest rate since the three months to April 1999.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to cut interest rates by half a percentage point to a record low of 1.5% this month. One member, David Blanchflower, wanted a full-point cut, according to minutes of the January 7-8 meeting published this morning.
The details showed that policymakers discussed leaving interest rates unchanged at 2% to give them time to assess the outlook for February, but did not want to surprise markets or undermine confidence.
The bank's Monetary Policy Committee said the fall in sterling would help support growth and the rebalancing of the economy. But they also noted that if there were indications that a weakening exchange rate reflected a loss of credibility in UK policy, then that would be bad news for the medium-term outlook.
