Unemployment has reached a new 17 year high accroding to figures published today, 16th March 2011, by the Office of National Statistics.

They report that the employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to January 2011 was 70.5 per cent, down 0.1 on the quarter. The number of people in employment aged 16 and over increased by 32,000 on the quarter to reach 29.16 million. The number of people in employment aged 65 and over increased by 56,000 on the quarter to reach 900,000, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992. The number of people in employment aged between 50 and 64 increased by 25,000 on the quarter to reach 7.32 million, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992.

The unemployment rate for the three months to January 2011 was 8.0 per cent of the economically active population, up 0.1 on the quarter. The total number of unemployed people increased by 27,000 over the quarter to reach 2.53 million, the highest figure since 1994. The unemployment rate for those aged from 16 to 24 increased by 0.8 on the quarter to reach 20.6 per cent of the economically active population, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992. The number of unemployed 16 to 24 year olds increased by 30,000 on the quarter to reach 974,000, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (the claimant count) fell by 10,200 between January and February 2011 to reach 1.45 million. The number of male claimants has fallen for thirteen consecutive months but the number of female claimants has increased for eight consecutive months. The total number of male claimants fell by 17,500 on the month to reach 991,300 in February 2011 but the number of female claimants increased by 7,300 to reach 457,300, the highest figure since October 1996. The number of women aged between 25 and 49 claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased by 5,400 on the month to reach 250,400, the highest figure since comparable records for this series began in 1997.

The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to January 2011 was 23.3 per cent, up 0.1 on the quarter. The number of economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64 increased by 43,000 over the quarter to reach 9.33 million. The number of people who were economically inactive because they were looking after the family or home increased by 36,000 on the quarter to reach 2.30 million.

The earnings annual growth rate for total pay (including bonuses) was 2.3 per cent for the three months to January 2011, up from 1.8 per cent for the three months to December 2010. This increase in the whole economy annual growth rate for total pay was mainly driven by bonus payments in the finance and business services sector.