The ongoing financial meltdown affecting many countries around the world is having an adverse affect on the job market in the United Kingdom.

The BBC reported that, in the three months leading up to September, unemployment jumped by 140,000, putting the total workforce unemployed in the UK at 1.82 million or 5.8%. It is also reported that individuals claiming “Jobseekers Allowance” have greatly increased, and is more than 150,000 higher than a year ago.

With unemployment the highest in 11 years, jobseekers are lining up at employment agencies across the country. Mel Groves, chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, said they were coping with an increase in new jobseekers allowance claims, which have risen from 45,000 a week in the spring to 63,000 last week.

The downturn has caused many businesses across the UK to downsize and many have closed their doors.

With banks under stress and withholding credit, major developments in all sectors of industry are being put on hold.

The British Chamber of Commerce said, due to the current downward spiral, it is expected that another 300,000 to 350,000 jobs will be lost in the next 12 to 24 months. This will put the unemployment figure at more than two million. Analysts predict that if current trends continue, unemployment could reach three million by 2010.