British unemployment rate rises to 7.9 per cent

LONDON: Official figures show Britain's unemployment rate rose 0.1 points to 7.9 per cent in October, suggesting a faltering jobs market as public sector job cuts loom.

The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the number of unemployed people rose by 35,000 to 2.5 million. Figures were worst for young workers, with an unemployment rate among 16 to 24-year-olds of 19.8 per cent.

There were 839,000 people unemployed for more than a year, the highest such figure since 1997.

The number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 46,000 to 1.16 million, a record high.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 1,200 in November to 1.46 million.