- Around 10,000 job seekers flood work fair
- Jobless total rises 88,000 in three months to August
- Rate 1,000 lower than July figures at 2,469million
- Youth unemployment falls fractionally to 946,000
It looks like the queue to get tickets for Wimbledon or a major pop star's comeback tour. In fact it is a sobering reminder of the City of London's fall from grace.
This is a crowd of more than 10,000 former Square Mile workers descending on a jobs fair in Canary Wharf.
Some queued for three hours, while others had to be turned away.
Most of the firms recruiting were hoping to attract highfliers who lost their jobs as the financial sector collapsed.
Join the queue: Desperate job seekers line up for the work fair at Canary Wharf in London
New figures today reveal the jobless total has fallen for the first time in 18 months, down 1,000 from 2.47million in the three months to July to 2.469million in the three months to August.
It dropped from 2.47million for the three months to July down to 2.469million in the three months to August, according to the Office for National Statistics.
However, across the period unemployment was 88,000 higher than in the three months to May, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Experts were quick to warn that the crisis is far from over and will deepen as public sector cuts start and young people flood the jobs market next year.
Capital Economics' Vicky Redwood said: 'We think the fiscal squeeze could require around 750,000 job losses in the public sector - meaning that unemployment should easily surpass three million
IHS Global Insight's Howard Archer warned: 'Unless the economy turns out to be stronger than expected ... many of the school leavers who cannot get a job will still be unemployed next year when the next batch of school leavers emerge.'
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the figures gave 'some cause for hope' but added: 'The jobs crisis has not gone away and the economy remains very fragile.'
Scramble: An estimated 10,000 people flocked to the event in the heart of London
Disappointment: So many job seekers turned up that they had to be turned away by organisers
There were other signs of some recovery in the labour market.
The number of people on jobseeker's allowance rose 20,800 to 1.63million in September, its highest since April 1997 but the smallest increase since May last year.
And fears of youth unemployment hitting 1 million were scotched as it actually dropped fractionally, down from 947,000 to 946,000 in the quarter to August.
Meanwhile the number of vacancies held firm at 434,000, ending a constant plunge since April last year.
The jobless rate was also stable at 7.9 per cent - the first time it has stayed the same since the start of 2008 - and redundancies in the three months to August were also down 68,000 to 233,000.
However, average earnings including bonuses rose 1.6 per cent over the quarter - down 0.2 per cent on the previous month.
Excluding bonuses, they grew 1.9 per cent - the lowest rise for eight years.
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Paul Kenny from the GMB union said: 'Bad as these figures are, there are some tentative signs of a very fragile recovery in the economy.'
Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Although unemployment isn't as high today as many feared it would be at the time of the Budget, it remains a serious problem, which is why we must keep increasing support and advice to get people back into jobs. We will not leave them on their own.'
The Government revealed it is creating 5,000 more jobs for young people through its Future Jobs Fund, taking the total to almost 60,000.
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