Unemployment in the UK is at its highest level since September 1997, with 1.92 million people out of work in November 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS’s latest figures show that the number of jobless people rose by 131,000 between September and November last year.

The number of redundancies made in the three months to November was 225,000 – the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995. There were 530,000 job vacancies in the three months to December – the lowest figure since comparable records began in 2001.

From January to September last year, the redundancy rate among women rose by 2.3 percentage points – almost double the rate of increase for men.

“This is going to be an equal opportunities recession: job losses in sectors where men predominate, such as manufacturing and construction, are now being balanced by job losses in retail and hospitality, where more women work,” said the TUC’s general secretary, Brendan Barber.

“Job losses among men are more likely to hit the headlines, as women tend to work in smaller workplaces where redundancies go unnoticed by the media," he added. “But, with so many households dependent on women's wages, the government must ensure that women benefit in full from programmes to help those facing redundancy and long-term unemployment.”