Unemployment has risen by 6,000 to more than 1.4m, according to government figures published today.

The figure of 1,432,000 people out of work means that Britain still has an unemployment rate of 4.8% – one of the lowest in the world.

And the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell last month by 9,600 to 850,900.

The biggest job reductions were in textiles and clothing, which saw numbers decline by 19,000 and optical equipment, which lost 18,000 jobs.

Commenting on the figures, Joe Slavin, managing director, Monster.co.uk, said: "Today's labour market statistics show a 10.4 per cent rise in job vacancies, with the biggest increase in companies with 2,500 employees or more.

"We are seeing the banking and financial service job categories experiencing the largest growth, with June job postings up 30 per cent and 17 per cent respectively compared to May.

"This level of growth in the financial sector indicates an increased confidence in the economy and perhaps signifies a return to the graduate hiring cycles of years past."