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The British Office for National Statistics said that unemployment increased by 35,000 in the first rise unemployment in 6 months, raising the unemployment rate to 7.9%. The losses are due to public sector layoffs, where 33,000 people were laid off. The government is hoping for the private sector to create more jobs in the next four years, with 330,000 workers set to retire due to austerity measures. Analysts had been expecting unemployment to fall, and some think that the statistics are not a good sign, especially because not all of the austerity measures have gone into effect yet.