The Government has been given grim jobs news ahead of the Budget when new figures showed that unemployment has soared to its highest level since Labour came to power in 1997.
The number of people looking for work jumped by 177,000 in the three months to February to reach 2.1 million - the biggest quarterly rise since 1991.
The total is the worst since February 1997, a few months before Labour won the general election.
The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance increased for the 13th month in a row in March, up by 73,700 to 1.46 million, the highest total since September 1997.
A raft of other gloomy figures from the Office for National Statistics showed continuing cuts in manufacturing jobs, a record low number of vacancies and the lowest rise in average earnings since 1991.
Meanwhile economic inactivity, including people on long-term sick leave, those taking early retirement or who have given up looking for work, remained at more than 20% of the workforce at 7.85 million.
Average earnings increased by just 0.1% in the year to February, down by 1.6% from the previous month, while the figure excluding bonuses was down by 0.3% to 3.2%. Both figures were record lows.
The UK now has an unemployment rate of 6.7%, the highest since the summer of 1997, the figures show.
The number of manufacturing jobs fell by 139,000 in the quarter to February, compared to the previous year, to reach a record low of 2.75 million.
Job vacancies fell by 68,000 in the quarter to March to a record low of 462,000, while a record 270,000 people were made redundant in the three months to February.
