The UK government needs to urgently make unemployment, and the tackling of it, a key issue for itself, according to one minister, after the latest figures were released today (January 18th).

It was revealed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that the number of people in the UK who are jobless rose by 118,000 in the three months leading up to the end of November 2011, letting the figure total 2.685 million, a 17-year high.

Now, employment minister Chris Grayling has told the Telegraph that it is vital that the government tackles these figures.

He said that the figures were "much to high," adding that it is now a "priority for the Government to bring them down as soon as possible".

Mr Grayling went on to say that many people are now joining the job market, such as students who leave university, and mothers returning to work, meaning that the figures are increasing on an uneven scale.

Posted by Alex Donnell