Wednesday July 16, 11:16 AM
Unemployment Benefit Claims Soar
By Sky News
Britain has seen its biggest monthly jump in unemployment benefit claims in more than 15 years, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics said the amount of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 15,500
to 840,100 in June.
It is the biggest monthly rise since December 1992 and the fifth consecutive rise in the claimant count, the ONS said.
The ONS also reported that unemployment rose by 12,000 to 1.62 million in the three months to May.
The statistics showed the number of benefit claimants as a percentage of the workforce also rose, to 2.6%.
But latest figures have yet to fully reflect growing numbers of redundancies - such as 5,000 jobs losses announced in recent weeks by the UK biggest housebuilders.
In the three months to May, 118,000 people were made redundant, up 10,000 on the previous quarter.
The number of job vacancies fell in the three months to June as the economic slowdown hit home.
Vacancies stood at 655,100, down 32,200 on the previous quarter.
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