Unemployment rate jumps to 6.7 %

A branch of the Job Centre Plus in central London. The unemployment rate jumped to 6.7% in the three months to February as the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose to 2.1 million, official data has shown. (AFP Photo)

Migrant workers install scaffolding at a construction site in Taiyuan, Shanxi province April 22, 2009.

People look at job listings at the Careers and Jobs Live careers fair at the ExCeL centre in London April 19, 2009.

A man passes a trade exhibition stand at the Careers and Jobs Live careers fair at the ExCeL centre in London April 19, 2009. The number of Britons claiming jobless

Autoworkers rally outside a GM assembly plant in Oshawa, Canada in 2008 against job cuts.

The unemployment rate jumped to 6.7 percent in the three months to February as the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose to 2.1 million, official data showed on Wednesday just hours before the crucial annual budget statement.

"The unemployment rate was 6.7 percent for the three months to February 2009, up 0.6 (percentage points) over the previous quarter and up 1.5 (percentage points) over the year," the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

"The number of unemployed people increased by 177,000 over the quarter and by 486,000 over the year, to reach 2.10 million. The unemployment level and rate have not been higher since 1997."

(Agencies)