London, July 15: The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Britain rose in June at the slowest pace for 13 months, official data showed on Wednesday.
The number of people claiming benefits increased 23,800 last month to 1.56 million, the highest total since the Labour government came to power in 1997 but the slowest monthly increase since May 2008.
Unemployment, according to the International Labor Organization measure, rose by 281,000 to 2.38 million in the three months to May. The quarterly increase was the highest since records began in 1971.
The ILO unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent, greater than analyst expectations for a rate of 7.4 percent.
“The unemployment data are a real mixed bag,” noted Howard Archer, chief European economist at the IHS Global Insight consultancy.
“The ILO data are truly horrible showing unemployment surging by a record 281,000 in the three months to May, taking the… unemployment rate up to a 12-year high.”
He added: “In marked contrast, the claimant count data suggest that the rise in unemployment could be tailing off.”
—-Agencies