Huge rise in unemployed

Unemployment today jumped by its biggest increase since 1991, when the UK last faced a major economic slump.

A total of 1.79 million people are out of work in the UK, a rise of 164,000 in the three months to August. The nationwide unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent is the worst since the spring of 2000.

In the West Midlands unemployment is now 6.4 per cent, rising 4,000 to a total of 169,000 people out of work.

The huge rise is seen as a massive blow to the Government, struggling to control an economic crisis that today saw shares drop more than 150 points by mid-morning

The Office of National Statistics today said the quarterly increase in the number of people out of work was the highest since the summer of 1991, when it jumped by 186,000.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 31,800 last month to 939,900. The total has now risen by 104,900 over the past year.

Vicky Redwood, of Capital Economics, predicted that total unemployment will rise to around three million by the end of 2010.

The worst hit area of the Black Country was Sandwell, where the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 341 to 8,278, or 4.7 per cent of the working population.

Walsall also suffered, with a hike in the claimant count of 287 to 6,402, or 4.2 per cent of the workforce.

In Dudley it was up 165 to 6,211, or 3.4 per cent, while in Wolverhampton the claimant count rose by just 93, to 7,828, or 5.4 per cent.

In Kidderminster and Wyre Forest the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance was up by 20 to 1,277, or 2.1 per cent.

In Cannock Chase the claimant count was up by 89 to 1,569, or 2.7 per cent, and in Stafford it rose by 96 to 1,293, or 1.7 per cent.

South Staffordshire's claimant count was up by 55 to 1,242, or 1.9 per cent, and in Lichfield it was up 55 to 993 or 1.7 per cent.