UK unemployment rose by 5,000 at the end of last year ahead of the catastrophic economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures reveal today. The increase for the months November to January was the first such increase since 2012, the Office for National Statistics said, spurred by an extra 20,000 men out of work. But the figures released today have been largely overshadowed by the dire economic situation facing the UK because of coronavirus. The small increase on the year is the first annual increase in unemployment since May to July 2012. The number of women working full-time has increased by 10.3 per cent since the three months of November 2015 to January 2016, the ONS said.

Source: Daily Mail March 17, 2020 10:17 UTC