Britain’s unemployment crisis today hit a 14-year high as the recession claimed another 220,000 jobs, with the number of people out of work totalling 2.43 million.

Unemployment in the UK is now at its highest level since the summer of 1995.

Official figures today revealed the grim scale of the recession’s human cost with the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance increasing by 24,900 in July to 1.58 million – its worst level for more than 12 years.

Despite recent signs that the economic crisis may have passed its worst phase, experts predict dole queues will stretch past the three million mark next year. But an even gloomier forecast from the Centre for Economics and Business Research says it could approach four million.

The number of people out of work in Shropshire in July rose by two to 4,997. In Telford & Wrekin, the unemployment figure dropped from 4,843 to 4,831 and in Powys, the number of people out of work dropped by 18 from 2,112 in June to 2,094 in July.

Office of National Statistics figures show average earnings increased by 2.5 per cent in the year to June, up by 0.2 per cent on the previous month.

The situation is set to grow even more bleak in the months ahead, when a new crop of university graduates and school leavers enters the worst jobs market for a generation.

IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer said: “Youth unemployment is a growing and real concern.”

He warned: “Even if the economy does return to growth in the third quarter, activity is still unlikely to be strong enough for some considerable time to come to prevent further net job losses.”