A RECORD number of people are being made redundant and job vacancies are falling as unemployment hurtles towards two million, official figures showed today.

The jobless total increased by 131,000 in the three months to November to 1.92 million, the highest figure for over a decade.

The UK now has an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent and the two million barrier is sure to be breached next month following a spate of job cuts since the start of the year.

The number of people claiming jobseekers allowance increased last month by 77,900 to 1.16 million, the worst figure since 2000.

The monthly benefit claimant increase was the second highest since 1991, and the claimant count has now increased for 11 months in a row, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Today's data also showed that 225,000 people became redundant in the quarter to November, up by 78,000 on the previous three months and the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.

The number of people in work fell by 26,000 in the latest period to 29.39 million, giving an employment rate of 74.2 per cent, down by 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter.

The number of job vacancies fell by 69,000 in the last three months of 2008 to 530,000, the lowest figure since records began in 2001.

Manufacturing jobs continued to be lost, down by 86,000 to 2.82 million in the quarter to November compared to the previous year, the lowest since records began in 1978.

Unemployment among 18 to 24-year-olds was 614,000 in the three months to November, up by 55,000 over the quarter and the highest total since 1995.

The number of jobs in the workforce in September was 31.53 million, down by 134,000 over the quarter.

Most sectors showed falls in jobs, with the highest, 72,000, hitting finance and business services.

Job losses continued today when electronics component firm TT electronics announced 700 cuts, including 100 in the UK.

Public sector employment was up by 14,000 to 5.76 million last September compared with June, while in private firms the figure fell by 128,000 to 23.6 million.

Average earnings increased by 3.1 per cent in the year to November, down by 0.2 per cent from the previous month, the lowest since the summer of 2003.