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The UK's unemployment rate has risen further, with official figures showing young people being particularly hard hit by the jump in job cuts under Labour.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the jobless rate hit 5.1% in the three months to October - a period dominated again by talk of a tough budget ahead.
That was up from the 5% level reported a month ago.
It had stood at 4.1% when Labour took office in 2024, promising a focus on growing the economy and protecting "working people" from tough fiscal choices.
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ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "The overall picture continues to be of a weakening labour market. The number of employees on payroll has fallen again, reflecting subdued hiring activity, while firms told us there were fewer jobs in the latest period.
"This weakness is also reflected in an increase in the unemployment rate, while vacancies remained broadly flat. The fall in payroll numbers and increase in unemployment has been seen particularly among some younger age groups.
"Wage growth slowed further in the private sector, while increasing again in the public sector, reflecting the continued impact of some pay rises being awarded earlier than they were last year."
The ONS highlighted a youth unemployment rate of 16%.
The data was released against the backdrop of a continuing investigation into the sources of leaks ahead of the chancellor's second budget, with the countdown dominated by talk of pain ahead including income tax hikes.
Economists and private sector surveys have blamed months of budget speculation for forcing business and consumer spending into a form of hibernation.
This comes on top of a backlash among employers to Rachel Reeves's first budget that saw business placed on the hook for £25bn of additional national insurance contributions - costs which have underpinned the UK's stubbornly high level of inflation.
It also raised minimum wage levels at inflation-busting rates - rates that were further upwardly adjusted on 26 November.
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