Unemployment nears 2 million

21/01/2009

Unemployment has crept nearer to two million, official figures have shown.

According to National Statistics, the wave of recent redundancies has pushed the unemployed total to 1.92 million.

The figure jumped 131,000 between September and November last year and 77,900 more people started claiming Jobseeker's allowance.

However, there is still more than half a million vacancies to be filled, said the employment minister Tony McNulty.

The minister noted: "Our message to job seekers is clear - we won't give up on you but you mustn't give up on looking for work."

Mr McNulty said the government is doing all it can to get people back into work.

"In these tough times, people need real help to find a job. That's exactly what this government is offering and everyday people are finding work," he commented.

The government has given extra funding to Job centres and provided an extra 6,000 frontline staff.

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