(PTI): Britain’s jobless rate has risen to 7.6 percent of the work force in May, the highest rate in 12 years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
UK’s unemployment soared by 281,000 to 2.38 million in the three months to May, the highest since January 1997, after a record increase in joblessness over the previous three months.
The trend has been especially spectacular among young British people — those less than 24 years old — as the jobless rate among this group has reached a 16-year high of 726,000.
The number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants in Britain has increased by 23,800 in June to 1.56 million, according to the ONS.
Separately on Wednesday a BBC-commissioned survey showed two-thirds of British people are personally connected to someone who has become unemployed during the current financial downturn.
Nearly 67 percent of people polled said they knew someone personally who has lost a job during the current crisis.
A further four in 10 fear losing their job in the current climate, the survey by ComRes found.
According to the poll, 52 percent of 1,048 respondents think the country’s economic situation will not recover for a while yet, while 34 percent believe things will deteriorate.
Tags: Britain's jobless rate
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