Unemployment Rises for First Time in Two Years
UK unemployment has increased slightly for the first time in two years. The rate of unemployment rose from 4.3% to 4.4% for the three months to the end of December, the Office for National Statistics said.
Despite the slight increase in the unemployment rate, the total number of those in work increased by 88,000.
Wages grew by an average of 2.5%, up from 2.4% the previous month, although the increase remained below inflation.
The number of unemployed people rose by 46,000 to 1.47 million for the final quarter of the year, compared to the previous three months.
