TUC says 4m jobless

The number of people wanting to work, but without a job in the UK, may be as high as four million, according to union leaders.

The figure is far higher than the figure of just over one million quoted by the Office for National Statistics.

The TUC, the umbrella group for unions, says the reason for the higher figure is the large numbers of "hidden" unemployed, especially older men.

Research for the TUC suggests that in some regions joblessness is five times greater than official figures.

The report, published for a TUC pre-Budget conference, showed there was a divide within some city areas such as London, parts of which were described as "an economic North".

The report showed that in south-east England, just under 10% of the population were jobless and wanted to work, rising to 17% in the north-east.

'Uncomfortable reading'

The report also showed that twice as many working age men were without work in the north-east (29%) than the south-east (14%).

TUC general secretary John Monks described the report as "uncomfortable reading".

"Those who say there is no longer a regional divide are wrong," he said.

"While prosperous regions have their depressed areas and there are affluent suburbs in every region, there are clear differences throughout Britain."

Mr Monks said real progress had been made in tackling unemployment, but he warned it would be wrong to think that, because there was one registered unemployed person for every estimated job vacancy, the UK now had full employment.

"The real figure shows there are four people who want a job for every vacancy," he said.