The latest unemployment statistics paint a "pretty bad" picture for the UK’s labour market, it has been said.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, revealed that the situation may not be as bad as expected, although unemployment is still on the rise.

"At the moment we are at the point in time where things have started to get less bad and if we withdraw the stimulus too early we would relapse again," he stated.

There has ultimately been a relentless rise in the number of unemployed people, added Mr Kern, which is consistent with the view that although the overall rate might be moderating, there are still no signs of recovery.

According to the latest unemployment statistics published by the Office for National Statistics earlier this week, the number of unemployed people has risen to 2.26 million.

The number of unemployed people increased by 232,000 over the quarter and by 605,000 over the year, it also found.

There was also an increase in the claimant count, which stood at 1.54 million at the end of May, marking an increase of 39,300 on the previous month.