The number of Britons out of work and claiming unemployment benefit rose for the sixth month running in July, although by less than expected.
The Office for National Statistics said today that claimant count unemployment rose by 2,800 in July after a downwardly-revised increase of 7,100 in June. Analysts had expected the claimant count to rise by 7,300.
The latest rise marks the longest stretch of increases since the economic slump of 1992.
The jobless rate held at 2.8 per cent even as 52,200 people have claimed benefits since a trough marked in January.
Presenting the Bank of England's quarterly growth and inflation forecasts earlier this month, governor Mervyn King said the labour market had softened with the claimant count higher and the number of hours worked lower.
Annual average earnings growth picked up slightly to 4.2 per cent in the three months to June, as expected, from 4.1 per cent in the prior period but remains at a rate consistent with no significant pressure on inflation.
The more internationally-recognised ILO measure of the jobless rate held steady at 4.7 per cent in the three months to June as unemployment rose by 27,000.