Unemployment rose by 38,000 in the three months to June, new figures showed today.

The news delivers a fresh blow to the Government and the hopes for the country’s economic recovery, after early projections had suggested the rate of growth in the jobs market had merely slowed. The country’s jobless rate stood at 2.49 million or 7.9 per cent between April and June, the Office for National Statistics said.

The total number of unemployed increased by 38,000. Economists had expected a fall of around 10,000.

In Shropshire, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose last month from 4,708 to 4,766, its fourth consecutive monthly increase, meaning 2.7 per cent of people in the area are now claiming. In Telford & Wrekin, the figure rose from 4,381 to 4,432, meaning the jobless figure has declined in just one month since last November.

Overall, the West Midlands had seen an 8.5 per cent fall in the number of unemployed people.

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