Unemployment increased by 177,000 people in the three months to February to reach 2.1 million, official figures have shown.
Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed the number of unemployed people, the unemployment rate and the claimant count have all increased.
The claimant count was 1.46 million, up 73,700 from the previous month.
The earnings annual growth rate (including bonuses) was 0.1%, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous period.
Job vacancies have also dropped – down 68,000 from the previous quarter to 462,000.
