Rising unemployment is yet more evidence that the youngest are hardest hit as Brexit costs mount

This is the latest sign that those starting their working lives will be affected most, writes James Moore

Unemployment has started to rise in Britain (Rex)

The latest set of labour market figures provided yet another example of City economists being overly optimistic about the future.

Official figures for June-August reveal that the unemployment rate came off a 45-year-low to land at 3.9 per cent. In real numbers, that’s 1.3m people out of work, a rise of 22,000.

Some other numbers: the number of people in work fell 56,000, or 0.2 percentage points, to 32.7 million. The difference between the two can be explained by the fact that there was also a rise in the number of “economically inactive” people. These include those who have retired, students, those looking after family or on long-term sick. Those classified as “unemployed” have to be actively seeking work.