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Unemployment rate surges to highest in nearly four years
Office workers and commuters walking through Canary Wharf in London during the morning rush hour

UNIONS have urged the government to put jobs at the heart of its industrial strategy after official stats showed today that Britain’s unemployment rate has surged to its highest in nearly four years.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent in the first three months of this year — the highest reading since summer 2021.

The number of payrolled jobs also fell by 72,000 in the first three months of the year, which the Resolution Foundation called a “major worry.”

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