This is the highest number of unemployed people since 1994, and the highest rate of unemployment since 1996.

The number of jobless people rose by 129,000 over the quarter to 8.3% of the economically active population.

Unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds passed the one million mark for the first time, with a record high of 1.02m in the quarter.

Regular pay fell by 0.1% over the quarter, while total pay, which includes bonuses, fell by 0.4% compared to the three months to August 2011.