'In the bleak mid winter'

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Is it the ‘rain before the storm’ or the ‘snow before the avalanche’ is the question that’s floating around In the box this morning as we evaluate the latest unemployment fingers.

The number of unemployed in the UK increased by 21,000 over the last quarter to hit 2.49 million, the highest figure since the three months to March in 1995.

But this is the smallest quarterly increase in the number of unemployed people since March to May 2008.

The number of people unemployed for up to six months fell by 98,000 on the quarter to reach 1.31 million. The number of people unemployed for more than 12 months increased by 49,000 over the quarter to reach 620,000, the highest figure since the three months to November 1997.

The unemployment rate for 18 to 24 year olds increased by 0.9% points on the quarter to reach 18.4%, the highest figure since records for this series began in 1992.

So the claimant count for unemployment posted a surprise fall which Gordon Brown will receive like a gift from Santa in his pre-Christmas Grotto. The unemployment count in North Lincolnshire which includes Scunthorpe increased by 53 people, but in London unemployment has raised by 2,000, taking the total number of people out of work in the region to 377,000.

The jobless rate for the region is now 9.2%, which is the third-highest rate in the country, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. While sterling took some comfort from the monthly figures, the majority of experts expect unemployment to keep rising next year. So while city dealers, the bankers and government look forward to their festive seasonal merriments; for many of the unemployed Christmas will be bleak!