TODAY'S unemployment figures - the highest for 14 years - make grim reading, but there was some encouragement from a lower than expected rise in those claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA).
The wider International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure of unemployment rose by 281,000 to 2.38 million in the three months to May, the biggest quarterly increase on record.
But the number of people claiming JSA - the so-called "claimant count" - increased by 23,800 in June to a much lower 1.56 million. June’s rise was also well below the 40,000 increase expected by the market.
Economists have previously watched the claimant count to gain a more up-to-date trend on the ILO figures which are two months behind, although Investec’s Philip Shaw said the measure was now "increasingly unreliable".
He said: "We suspect that the claimant count numbers are being biased down by individuals moving off the count onto government schemes such as the New Deal.
"While they would still effectively be jobless, on this measure they would no longer be classified as unemployed."
The figures showed the total number of people in employment for the three months to May 2009 was just under 29 million, down 269,000 over the quarter and down 543,000 over the year. Over the same period, the number of hours worked dropped by 1%.
Mr Shaw added: "An analysis of inflows and outflows to and from the claimant count shows that a surge in outflows is mainly responsible for the lower claimant count.
"Are people really finding jobs? Employment and hours worked fell sharply in the three months to May, so we think not."
