The number of people out of work grew by 88,000 to 2.47m in the three months to August, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Unemployment benefit claimant numbers rose  in September by 20,800 to 1.63m.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), says that unemployment is rising at a much slower pace than expected in the three months to August, confirming that the recession is ending.

However, Kern warns: “There is no room for complacency, and a sustainable recovery is not guaranteed.
 
“Although confidence is strengthening, businesses are still facing serious pressures, particularly small and medium sized firms. Lending is still too weak, and many are struggling to retain their skills base.”

Sonja Stockton, head of recruitment at PricewaterhouseCoopers, says that too many, particularly the graduate class of 2008/09 have lost their confidence in the market, with many choosing study or gap years instead of work.

“Internships, open days, summer academies, demonstrating the skills you gained through sport or volunteering – these are all established routes to full time roles in the US and Europe and it’s a culture that is now embedding itself in education in the UK too.

“Students need to get a foot in the door as early as possible. It gets people’s confidence back in the world of work, business, their skills and employers’ confidence in their abilities too.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper says: “Although unemployment isn’t as high today as many feared it would be at the time of the Budget, it remains a serious problem, which is why we must keep increasing support and advice to get people back into jobs. We will not leave them on their own.”

Luc Fountain, managing director at commercial recruitment agency Liberty Resourcing, told Recruiter: “We are putting out some quite junior positions for reception and administration. If we put out these jobs a year ago, I would not have had any responses but we are now getting around 600 responses for these roles.”

Recruitment and Employment Confederation director of external relations Tom Hadley says: “Acquiring practical experience – in particular through temporary assignments - can help young job-seekers to differentiate themselves in a hugely competitive labour market. This further strengthens our arguments for the government focus on stimulating recruitment activity through tax incentives and by avoiding a heavy-handed and premature implementation of new employment regulations such as the EU Agency Workers Directive.”