hmmm12 Oct 2011 11:11
UK August Unemployment Highest Since 1994
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LONDON -- Unemployment in the U.K. rose to its highest level in more than 16 years in August, official statistics showed Wednesday, largely as a result of the biggest fall in part-time workers ever recorded.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of unemployed people in the U.K. rose by 114,000 to 2.57 million in the three months to the end of August, while the unemployment rate rose to 8.1%.
The last time there were more people out of work was in October 1994, the ONS said.
The unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 rose to its highest level ever recorded, the ONS said. The number of unemployed young people hit 991,000, or 21.3% of that age group.
ONS data showed the rise in unemployment was largely caused by a steep decline in part-time jobs. The number of full-time workers fell by 2,000 in the three months to August to 21.32 million, but the number of people working part time declined by 175,000, the ONS said.
An ONS official said the decline reflected job losses in the public sector and a steep fall in the number of over 65s in work, many of whom work part-time.
A more timely measure of unemployment, the claimant count, also rose. The ONS said the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance--an unemployment benefit--rose 17,500 in September. The claimant count rate rose to 5.0%. It was last higher in 1997, the ONS said.
-By Jason Douglas and Ilona Billington, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; jason.douglas@dowjones.com