Is contracting becoming the only option for the UK’s unemployed?

Official figures from the ONS show an additional 48,000 people became unemployed in the final quarter of 2011, bringing the total to 2.67 million. Although this was the smallest quarterly increase in nearly 12 months, it brought the unemployment rate to 8.4%, the highest rate in 16 years.

Two-thirds of the newly unemployed were women and the number of people who had to settle for part-time rather than full-time work reached record levels. Youth unemployment also increased and now stands at 1.04 million - a rate of 22.2%.

Rising unemployment continues to hit all areas of the UK, except Wales, where the number of people out of work dropped by 3,000 to 134,000. The ONS data also showed that average salaries increased by 2% last year.

Whilst this all sounds like doom and gloom, David Cameron was quick to point out that the number of people in work actually increased in the last quarter of 2011. 29.13 million Brits actually had paid work, although for many, this was just part-time. The UK's part-time workforce now stands at a record 1.35 million, the highest since records started in 1992.

The CIPD recently predicted that unemployment will carry on rising and will hit 2.85 million before the end of the year. Despite the latest drop in inflation, the weak economy will cause further contractions in growth and we have still not seen the end of public sector redundancies.

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Image: Will code for food... by Sara Golemon