MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK unemployment surges to new ten year high

United Kingdom jobcentres were said to be “creaking” under the pressure of work as new figures showed unemployment surging to a 10-year high. The jobless total reached 1.97 million, confounding many experts who had predicted it would break through the two million barrier.

According to the latest release from the National Statistics Office unemployment now stands at 6.7%, the worst figure since just after Labour came to power in 1997. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has now increased for 12 months in a row, up by 73,800 in January to 1.23 million, the highest total since the summer of 1999, the figures showed. Union leaders said the figures were "dreadful", while business leaders warned that unemployment was now on a "relentless rise" towards three million. The data was published as Bank of England boss Mervyn King said the UK was in "deep recession" and warned policymakers may imminently resort to other rescue measures as interest rate cuts lose their impact. Fresh job losses have also been announced, including almost 400 at cash-and-carry retailer Makro through the closure of three UK superstores and 60 at newspaper group News International. The Prime Minister met some of Britain's biggest employers at the first session of a group set up to boost employment. Welcoming the 22 business chiefs to Downing Street, Gordon Brown said: "I realise these are very difficult times because of the global financial recession. But I am sure, by working together in partnership, we can make a difference to the employment opportunities and success of the economy." Later in the Commons he said every person who loses their job was a cause for "sadness" but pledged to take action to help people back to work. Almost 260,000 people were made redundant in the last three months of 2008, the highest figure since records began in 1995 and an increase of 104,000 over the previous quarter. Job vacancies fell by 76,000 to 504,000 in the three months to January, the lowest since records began in 2001, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.