Labour to probe why jobless aren’t claiming

There is a large gap between the number of people out of work and those claiming unemployment benefit and the government wants to know why.

One day before the publication of the latest jobless data, due early tomorrow, an investigation has begun into the discrepancy.

The Office for National Statistics said in July that unemployment measured under International Labour Organisation rules saw the biggest quarterly increase since records began in the three months to May.

That took the national jobless rate to 7.6%.

Unemployment jobless benefit claimant numbers rose by only 23,800 in June, the smallest increase in a year. On that measure, unemployment sits at 4.8%, still high, but less than it might be.

The inquiry, ordered by work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper, will study why so many unemployed people in the deepest recession in decades are not claiming benefit.

One possible cause of the discrepancy between the two sets of data is that some people who have recently lost their jobs are relying on their partner's income, their own savings or redundancy payments.

"It's fairly open. The key issue is establishing why there is a difference in the trends of the key figures," said a spokesman for the department of work and pensions.