Jobless Total To Top 2 million this week.

Jobless toll set to reach 2 million, likely to reach above 3 million

As the jobless figure in the UK is likely to top 2 million this week, Tony Woodley, Unite's joint secretary-general, said the government was doing too little to combat growing unemployment, particularly in manufacturing. "We are not talking about green shoots of recovery. We are talking about protecting jobs today" he said.

Unemployment has surged to 1.9m in December, and January's figures are likely to show another sharp rise, taking joblessness above the 2m mark for the first time since 1997.

"Reports of companies laying off workers are prevalent, while an increasing number of firms are folding," said Howard Archer, of consultancy Global Insight in the Observer newspaper. He predicts that unemployment will rise for at least another 12 months, eventually peaking above 3m.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits is also expected to show a large jump this week: analysts believe up to 90,000 new job seekers may have joined the register in February, which would make it the worst month for job losses since the depths of the last recession in the early 1990s.

With job losses rising, Unite is now organising a mass demonstration in Birmingham to support British manufacturing and demand the government provide more support.