The number of people in work has remained virtually static but the number of those unemployed has increased by 70,000 between December last year and February 2013, official figures issued today have revealed.

The Office for National Statistics' latest snapshot of the labour market shows the employment rate stabilised at 71.4% of people aged 16 to 64. This figure was down 2,000 on the previous quarter but is 488,000 higher on a year on year basis.

The unemployment rate crept up by 0.2% or 70,000 people to 7.9% of the economically active population, representing a total of 2.56 million people and a quarterly increase of 70,000.

Some 900,000 registered unemployed people had been out of work for more than a year, around 450,000 had been jobless for between six months and a year and more than 1.2 million for up to six months.

According to statisticians, a major reason for the hike in unemployment is a greater number of people seeking work in the last six months as women who have previously been caring for families or homes attempt to enter the jobs market.