Unemployment hits 10-year high
Updated on 11 February 2009
Jobcentres were said to be "creaking" under the pressure of work as new figures showed unemployment surging to a 10-year high.
The jobless total reached 1.97 million, confounding many experts who had predicted it would break through the two million barrier, but it was still the worst figure since just after Labour came to power in 1997.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has now increased for 12 months in a row, up by 73,800 in January to 1.23 million, the highest total since the summer of 1999, the figures showed.
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