DWP's press release talks of a stabilising labour market due to a rise in the number of jobs in the economy (an increase of 11,000 in the last 3 months) and the number in employment (a rise of over 250,000 in the last 18 months).
It does acknowledge the increase in the number of people unemployed, but talks of the the number of inactive people, those out of work and not looking for employment having fallen by 78,000. The majority of the 78,000 fall in inactivity came from people with a long-term illness or disability, at a time when the Government's welfare reforms are moving people from incapacity benefits.
They also talk of the figures showing a more stable picture for young people (although they are still rising), with the number of under-25s who have left full-time education and are unemployed at 731,000 (up 1,000 this quarter). Over the same period the number of full-time students looking for a job rose 22,000 to 307,000.
Finally, the number claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) rose by 6,900 to 1.6 million.
Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said:
"The latest figures show some encouraging signs of stability despite the challenging economic climate. With more people in employment and a rise in vacancies it is clear the private sector is still creating jobs. However, we are not complacent. With more people in the labour market we know that competition for those jobs is tough and we will continue to make it our priority to find people work."
The BBC however have led their coverage of the statistics with the headline: UK unemployment continues to edge up
They report that the unemployment rate edged up to 8.4%, the highest for 16 years, that women made up two-thirds of the increase and that there was a new record in the number of people working part-time who want full-time jobs.
The article does go on to talk of 'Growth hopes', with economists suggesting that the worsening employment outlook had eased.
Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight said:
"[This] supports hopes that the economy will return to modest growth in the first quarter and avoid recession. Admittedly claimant count unemployment rose...but this is well down on the increases seen a few months ago."
Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said:
"The labour market isn't signalling recession but it's hardly suggesting recovery either."
The article also covers the fact that the figures show that the proportion of the workforce in paid work has also risen.
This apparent contradiction - in the rise in both unemployment and employment - is explained by the fact that there has been a rise in the number of part-time workers and the number of people classified as economically inactive has dropped.The inactivity number fell by 78,000 to 9.29 million. This included a drop in the number of people categorised as long-term sick or retired, who went back into the workforce.
The TUC's general secretary, Brendan Barber, said:
"With one in three jobseekers looking for work for over a year, and around six unemployed people for every job, the government's mantra that there are plenty of jobs out there just doesn't ring true.
"It's encouraging to see a small rise in employment, but this is entirely down to people taking part-time work because there are no full-time jobs available."
That number increased by 83,000 on the quarter to 1.35 million, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992. The TUC says this reflects the amount of people who are underemployed.
The ONS said that public sector employment had dropped while that in the private sector had gone up.
The latest available figures, for September 2011, showed that the number of people with public sector jobs fell by 67,000 from June to 5.99 million.
In the same period, the number of private sector jobs rose by 5,000 to 23.12 million.
Follow this link to view the full DWP Press release (opens in a new window)
Follow this link to view the full BBC article (opens in a new window)
