The unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in August. The adjusted live register count is now at 235,100, the highest since March 1998; this represents a 45% rise in the number of jobless since August 2007 – the steepest jump since record-keeping began in 1967. The rate of 6.1% is the largest since December 1998.
Construction is the hardest-hit sector, while manufacturing and services are also contracting.