The number of people out of work in the UK rose by 72,000 in the three months to October to stand at 1.49 million.
That left the unemployment rate at 4.9%, up from 4.7% the month before, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The narrower measure of people out of work and claiming unemployment benefit, rose by 10,500 in November to 902,000.
It was the 10th month in a row that the claimant count figure has increased.