The number of people claiming jobless benefits in Britain has risen above two million for the first time in 12 years, official data show today.
Britain's unemployment rate jumped to 6.5% in the three months to January, the Office for National Statistics said.
The Office for National Statistics figures showed the claimant count rose by 138,400 in February, after an upwardly revised increase of 93,500 in January.
That was well above analysts' forecasts for a rise of 85,000 and the biggest monthly increase since comparable records began in 1971.
The internationally comparable ILO measure of unemployment rose by 165,000 in the three months to January to 2.029 million - the highest since 1997.
The worse than expected unemployment figures will reinforce fears that Britain's economic downturn could be more painful than previously thought.
Average earnings including bonuses in the three months to January grew an annual 1.8%, the weakest since records began in 1991. The single month annual rate actually fell by 0.2%, the first fall on record.
BoE rates decision was unanimous
Bank of England policymakers voted 9-0 to cut interest rates in Britain to a record low 0.5% earlier this month, minutes of their meeting showed this morning.
In a bid to drive Britain out of its first recession in 18 years, the BoE's nine-member monetary policy committee also voted unanimously to pump £75 billion of new money into the financial system.
The BoE on March 5 decided to cut its key lending rate from 1% to the lowest level since the formation of the central bank in 1694.
The bank's key task is to keep annual British inflation close to a government-set target of 2%.
