Unemployment expected to rise in Britain

LONDON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Unemployment in Britain likely will continue to rise for "a while," Britain's chancellor of the exchequer said Thursday.

The Times of London said Alistair Darling, the chancellor, told members of Parliament that despite the predicted increase, unemployment could be worse.

"Because our labor market has been more flexible than in the past, although unemployment in this country is too high and unfortunately will continue to rise for a while, it is lower than in other countries," he said.

The Times said unemployment in the United Kingdom is at 7.8 percent after a 2 percent increase so far this year.

By comparison, unemployment stands at 10.2 percent in the United States, 17.9 percent in Spain and 9.8 percent in France.