The latest jobs data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed a mixed employment picture.
Overall, the employment rate rose year-on-year in the second quarter of 2008 to reach 74.9 per cent, taking the total number of people in work to 29.59 million - the highest number since records began in 1971.
However, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose at the fastest level since 1992, with around 15,500 more people registering for benefits in the three months to May.
"Unemployment is a lagging indicator and it seems inevitable that extended very weak economic activity and deteriorating business confidence will exact an increasing toll on the labour market over the coming months," Howard Archer, chief economist at Global Insight, told MyFinances.co.uk.
Although it has been widely accepted that employment is likely to dip in the coming months, predictions of large-scale job cuts are "pessimistic", according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
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