Jobless claims jump in Britain

LONDON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Applications for unemployment benefits surged in Britain in September, rising by 31,800, the government said Wednesday.

It was the eighth consecutive monthly rise in unemployment in Britain, The Times of London reported.

While the figure rose less than economists had forecast, the International Labor Organization said that from June through August there were 164,000 people added to the jobless lists in Britain, resulting in a total of 1.79 million unemployed.

The number of unemployed could reach 2 million by 2009, David Blanchflower, a monetary policy committee member of the Bank of England, told The Times.

"We will do everything we can to help create jobs and help maintain jobs in the British economy," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.