Live Register Up In January

The seasonally adjusted Live Register total increased from 171,600 in December to 179,400 in January, an increase of 7,800. This compares with an increase of 2,200 in December.

In the year to January 2008, there was an unadjusted increase of 22,697 (+14.3%).

This compares with an unadjusted increase of 14,987 (+9.6%) in the year to December 2007.

The monthly increase in the Seasonally Adjusted series consisted of an increase of 6,400 men and 1,400 women.

The standardised unemployment rate in January was 4.9%, up from 4.4%.