A RECORD number of people are being made redundant and job vacancies are falling as unemployment hurtles towards two million, official figures showed today.

The jobless total increased by 131,000 in the three months to November to 1.92 million, the highest figure for over a decade.

In the south east, official figures show 7,000 people lost their jobs between September and November last year, taking the jobless figure for the region to 208,000.

The UK now has an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent and the two million barrier is sure to be breached next month following a spate of job cuts since the start of the year.