The number of jobseekers in UK sustained its rise, indicating that the sharp increase in oil prices has not fed through into the wider economy. The jobless claims have augmented by 14.600 from January, reaching a peak of 919.700 applications. This growth is the biggest since December 1992 when it was given an increase of over 71.000. In the last year, the claimant count has raised a number of 102.000 requests. One area that is still losing jobs is manufacturing, which saw employment in a three months period fall by 111.000 claims over the year, a 3.5%, to 3.08 millions. This is the lowest rank since comparable records began in 1978. The UK unemployment rate is now higher than the U.S. rate, at 4.7%, while still almost half the 8.3% in the euro nations. "Labour market conditions have taken a further turn for the worse," said Jonathan Loynes, economist at Capital Economics before the report. "Employment has posted a fall of this size on only one other occasion since the 1990s recession," he concluded. Employers are shedding workers after consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, grew at the slowest pace in 10 years in 2005 and oil prices rose 40%. While the Bank of England forecasts a revival in economic expansion, economists and some policy makers say it won't be strong enough to promote hiring.