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UK unemployment has hit a 12-year high of more than 2.2 million, new figures reveal.

The latest Office for National Statistics report shows that the number of people out of work rose by 232,000 in the three months to April, taking the total to 2.26 million – the highest since 1997.

In addition, the figures reveal that the unemployment rate now stands at 7.2 per cent of the working population, an increase of 0.7 per cent on the previous quarter and 1.9 per cent over the year.

Commenting on the findings, John Cridland, deputy director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), says they show the UK is not yet through the worst of the economic downturn.

He adds: 'Sadly, the CBI expects these figures to continue to rise and peak at three million in the spring of 2010.'

Cridland also calls on the government to 'do everything it can' to prevent further job losses, as well as providing training, advice and support to the unemployed.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, agrees that the situation is 'grim' and says the figures should serve as a reminder that it is too early to speak of the end of the economic downturn.

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