The first clear signs that the credit crunch and stuttering economic growth have begun to hit the jobs market emerged on Wednesday with official figures showing that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit has risen for the third month in a row.

The last time this occurred was in 2006. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people claiming job seekers allowance rose by just over 7,000 to 806,300 last month. The figure, however, was still 82,300 lower than at the same stage last year.