**The number of people out of work in the UK has risen again, taking the jobless rate to 7.9%, official figures show.**The number of people unemployed increased by 210,000 to 2.47 million in the three months to July, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Claims for unemployment benefit in August grew by 24,400 from July to 1.61m, the highest since May 1997.
There have been signs the UK economy is beginning to pick up, but jobless data tends to lag behind other measures.
The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work rose from 928,000 to 947,000 - edging closer to the landmark of one million and adding to fears of a new “lost generation” of young people.
Average earnings, including bonuses, increased by 1.7% in the three months to July, down from the previous month.
‘Extended period’
Earlier this week, the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, said there were signs that the UK economy was growing again.
But he added that the “strength and sustainability” of the recovery were still “highly uncertain”, saying the state of the banking system, levels of debt, and the global economy were all drags on growth.
“More workers, particularly young workers, are paying a devastating price for the bankers’ recession and there is some way to go before unemployment stops rising”
Paul Kenny
GMB Union
Youth unemployment: Your stories
There had been concerns that the unemployment figure would rise above the psychologically important 2.5 million mark this month.
But unemployment still looked likely to reach three million in 2010, and could go higher, said economist Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.
“Unemployment is a lagging indicator and the sharp overall economic contraction suffered between the second quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009 will continue to weigh down on the labour market for an extended period.”
And there are fears that cuts in public spending aimed at tackling the huge budget deficit will lead to further job losses.
“More workers, particularly young workers, are paying a devastating price for the bankers’ recession and there is some way to go before unemployment stops rising,” said Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union.