Jobless total will rise - McNulty

Mr McNulty said he expected unemployment figures to get worse

Employment Minister Tony McNulty has said unemployment figures have "a ways to go before we reach the bottom".

Speaking to the BBC before monthly labour market figures on Wednesday, Mr McNulty predicted they would "still be going in the wrong direction".

Figures suggest the unemployment total rose by 137,000 to 1.86 million, in the three months to October.

Since then, Grattan, Barclays, South West Trains, JCB and Jaguar are among firms to have announced job cuts.

In an interview with BBC One's Politics Show, Mr McNulty was asked if the jobless figures could reach 3m in 2009.

He said he was "not in the game of making predictions", but added: "One thing I will say clearly... have we reached the bottom of this? No we haven't.

"Unemployment is a lagging indicator, so the figures that come out this Wednesday will be for last December and I do fear they will still be going in the wrong direction."

Jobs 'summit'

Asked if it was near the bottom, he said: "I don't think it is at the moment... I think it's got a ways to go before we reach the bottom."

At a "jobs summit" last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised to help 500,000 people into work or training - by offering employers