UK unemployment rises to 5.1% - the highest level in nearly five years
Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride insisted: 'You've got a Chancellor who doesn't understand economics'
The rate of UK unemployment rose to 5.1% in the three months to October, up from 5% in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said.
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Britain’s unemployment rate rose to its highest level for nearly five years and wage growth slipped back further, with young people in particular suffering amid a tough jobs market, official figures have shown.
The unemployment figure of 5.1% is up from 5% in the three months to September.
The newly released figures come as UK average regular earnings growth fell to 4.6% in the three months to October.
The figures are 0.9% higher after taking Consumer Prices Index inflation into account, the Office for National Statistics has said, amid an ongoing cost of living crisis.
Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride told LBC that he's "not surprised" by the figures.
Read more: Doctors' strike 'to leave elderly patients stuck in hospital' as super-flu rages through NHS
"If you tax something Nick, you tend to get less of it," he told Nick.
Insisting Labour had "mishandled the run-up to this budget," the Conservative MP added: "If you make those kind of choices, this is what we expect.
"You've got a Chancellor who doesn't understand economics - particularly around business. They just don't get it."
This is the highest since the first quarter of 2021 – but with the pandemic era stripped out, it is the highest since early 2016.
The ONS said average regular wage growth also pulled back again, to 4.6% in the three months to October, down from 4.7% in the previous three months, and was 0.9% higher after taking Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation into account.
The latest figures estimated the number of employees on payrolls plunged by 38,000 during November to 30.3 million in further evidence of a weakened jobs market.
The ONS said younger workers in particular were struggling in the difficult hiring climate.
Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “The overall picture continues to be of a weakening labour market.
"The number of employees on payroll has fallen again, reflecting subdued hiring activity, while firms told us there were fewer jobs in the latest period.
“This weakness is also reflected in an increase in the unemployment rate while vacancies remained broadly flat.
“The fall in payroll numbers and increase in unemployment has been seen particularly among some younger age groups.”