Unemployment numbers rose by another 164,000 between June and August to 1.79m, according to government figures.

The official unemployment rate increased from 5.5% to 5.7%.

Office for National Statistics figures show that jobseeker's allowance claimants rose by 31,800 to 939,900 in September.

The government plans to spend £100m on re-training workers who find themselves out of work as the economy slows.