Unemployment Up To 7.8%

The seasonally adjusted Live Register total increased from 260,300 in October to 277,200 in November, an increase of 16,900.

In the year to November 2008, there was an unadjusted increase of 106,864 (or 66.1%). This compares with an unadjusted increase of 94,502 (up60.0%) in the year to October 2008.

The monthly increase in the seasonally adjusted series consisted of an increase of 13,600 men and 3,300 women.

The standardised unemployment rate in November was 7.8%. This compares with 6.3% in the third quarter of 2008.

In the month, the estimated number of casual and part-time workers on the Live Register was 17,073 men and 18,724 women.