UK unemployment rises, not looking great for 2009.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit climbed to 1.07 million last month, exceeding the one million mark for the first time since 2001.
The number of redundancies has also risen sharply as the effects of the Economic Downturn have spread beyond the financial and construction sectors. The number of redundancies, during the three months to the end of October, increased by 41000 to 180000. The last time the level was this high was in 2002.
The number of redundancies is expected to continue to remain high with official figures lagging behind the recent spate of job cuts announced by hard-pressed businesses like National Express.
The figures revealed a disturbing rise in the number of jobless young people, aged 18-24, up by 55000 in the three months to October to 597000. This was the highest number since 1995.
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