British jobless claims surge in July

The number of people claiming jobless benefits in Britain leapt in July by the biggest monthly amount for more than 15 years, according to official data published Wednesday.
The claimant count rose by 20,100 from June to 864,700 people, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. That was the biggest month-on-month increase since December 1992.
Meanwhile, the June claimant count was revised upwards to show an increase of 20,000 people, compared with the previous gain of 15,500.
The count has now risen for six months running amid a wider economic slowdown in Britain.
"The latest UK labour market figures show that the rise in unemployment is rapidly picking up pace," said analyst Vicky Redwood at Capital Economics.
"The claimant count rose for the sixth month in a row in July, with the 20,100 rise the biggest seen so far in this downturn.”
Global Insight economist Howard Archer added: "The labour market is now being hit increasingly hard by the economic downturn and depressed business confidence.”