The Government today doubled spending on a "rapid response" unit to help people find work after unemployment reached an 11-year high, edging closer to the politically-sensitive two million mark.

Official figures for the three months to September showed that 1.82 million people were out of work, an increase of 140,000 from the previous quarter.
It was the highest figure since the end of 1997, shortly after Labour came to power, and led to calls for urgent action to boost job creation and help those made redundant.

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