The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by 11,000 in April, the sixth successive monthly increase, says the national statistics office CBS.

Corrected for seasonal influences, some 203,000 people were on jobless benefits (ww). In October 2008, the jobless total was a record 40,000 lower.
Unemployment among men was up 31%, while only 13% more women were without a job of at least 12 hours a week. In particular, people employed through staffing agencies were hard hit, the CBS said.