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.”

Nye Cominetti, the think tank’s principal economist, said: “The recent rise in employer National Insurance may have accelerated this slowdown, with the number of hospitality jobs falling particularly sharply since the tax rise came into effect in April.”

The number of vacancies also shrank by 42,000 in the quarter to April, remaining below pre-pandemic levels for the second quarter in a row.

Commenting on the figures, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The government must remain laser-focused on delivering its growth mission.

“Jobs must be at the heart of the forthcoming industrial strategy, and public investment should continue to rise.  

“New training opportunities and career starts for young people who are not earning or learning also need to be an urgent priority, particularly to protect those at risk of long-term worklessness.”

Data released today also showed that there are 1.17 million workers employed on zero-hours contracts.

Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at policy institute the Work Foundation, said: “The growth in zero-hour contracts is likely to impact groups facing structural inequalities in the labour market.

“Women represent 81 per cent of the growth of 130,000 zero-hour contact workers on the year.”

The statistics show that wage growth slowed to 5.6 per cent in the three months to March, down from 5.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Workers are still trying to catch up with the cost of living and, with real wage growth falling, will wonder how they will afford the ever-soaring cost of essentials as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.

“Unite will stand behind all of our members who refuse to pay the price for the bad decisions of governments and employers.”