ONS data reveals mixed employment picture

The latest jobs data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased at the fastest level since 1992 in the last quarter.

However, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.2%, while employment actually rose.

Overall, the employment rate for people of working age stood at 74.9% for the three months to May, which is an increase of 0.4% over the year.

That takes the total number of people in work to 29.59 million, the highest since records began in 1971.

Howard Archer, a Chief Economist at Global Insight, told MyFinances.co.uk: 'Unemployment is a lagging indicator and it seems inevitable that extended very weak economic activity and deteriorating business confidence will exact an increasing toll on the labour market over the coming months.'

Although analysts have been widely predicting a dip in employment as a result of the current economic downturn, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development recently described expectations of wide-ranging job cuts as 'pessimistic.'