LEAD: British unemployment continues to rise amid recession fears

Jan 18, 2012, 14:21 GMT

London - Britain's opposition Wednesday accused the government of taking the country 'back to the 1980s' as latest official figures showed unemployment rising to 2.6 million.

The figures, for the three months between September and November, showed the number of those out of work rising by 118,000 during the period, reaching its highest level since the mid-1990s.

While the overall jobless rate rose to 8.4 per cent, youth unemployment reached 1.04 million, or 22.3 per cent of people aged between 16 and 24.

In parliament, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband accused the government of taking Britain back to an era of rising unemployment.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) were a result of the government's austerity programme, which was cutting spending 'too far too fast,' said Miliband.

Prime Minister David Cameron said that while the figures were 'hugely unwelcome,' the government had programmes in place to alleviate the problem, especially among the younger generation.

An analysis by research group Capital Economics said that unemployment in Britain was expected 'to rise much further' in view of the recent economic slowdown.

Figures due to be published next week are expected to show negative growth for the fourth quarter of 2011 in Britain, confirming a technical recession - which is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.