//
New data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the figure now stands at 2.38 million after rising by 281,000 in the three months to May.
The jobless rate has risen to 7.6 per cent - the highest since 1997 - and there was also a warning that there could be a further increase in the coming months, meaning more people could be searching for ways to earn extra money.
However, the ONS data revealed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit saw its smallest rise for a year during the quarter.
Market analyst Nick Serff noted that those trading on the stock market have been "keeping a close eye" on unemployment figures in order to try and gauge the state of the UK economy.
He said that the smaller than expected rise in jobless benefit claimants helped the FTSE climb above the 4,300 point mark.
