Unemployment in the UK soared by 137,000 in the three months to October, taking the official total to 1.86m.

The jobless rate rose from 5.8% of the population to 6%, the figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed.

The number of people claiming jobseekers' allowance also increased from 995,000 to 1.07m.

The actual number of people out of work is likely to be far higher than these figures as many large companies have laid off staff in the past three months, which were not covered by the latest statistics.