THE TUC has rebuked the Tories over their “lack of a credible economic plan” after new figures exposed the steepest rise in unemployment since the pandemic. 

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures revealed yesterday that unemployment in Britain has increased by 74,000. In the three months to August, a total of 1.4 million were out of work, a peak not seen in two years.

Job vacancies have also declined consecutively for the fifteenth time, with figures showing a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 43,000 to 988,000. 

The trend suggests that companies are reducing their hiring as they begin to feel the effects of increasing prices and elevated interest rates.

The Bank of England will make a decision next week on whether to raise the current interest rate of 5.25 per cent.

In September, the benchmark rate held steady, after a barrage of 14 consecutive hikes, with Governor Andrew Bailey admitting there were “increasing signs” that higher rates were harming Britain’s economy.

Commenting on the figures, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak cautioned: “The red warning lights are still flashing.  

“People will rightly be worried about their jobs – with many companies considering cutting back. 

“We can’t go on like this. The Conservatives’ lack of a credible economic plan is destroying business confidence and sucking the life out of our economy. 

“Working people deserve much better.” 

Liz Kendall, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, agreed that the figures stand as a testament to the Tories’ “dismal mismanagement of our economy.”

She went on to promise that Labour “will tackle the root causes of economic inactivity by driving down NHS waiting lists, reforming social security, making work pay and supporting people into good jobs across every part of the country.”

The ONS altered its methodology for calculating figures, postponing the release of unemployment and employment statistics by one week.

Under the updated approach, the decrease in employment from May to July was 133,000 — a smaller decline compared to the 207,000 initially reported. 

This was because new data sources, such as real-time payroll data, were needed to compensate for the lack of response to its labour force survey.

The ONS claims this provides a more “holistic view” of  labour market figures while the usual survey statistics remain uncertain.