Video: Chris Grayling: unemployment 'is the top priority for Government' The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance increased for the 17th month in a row in March, up by 3,600 to 1.61 million, the smallest monthly rise since last December. As the latest figures showed that the number of people out of work for over a year jumped by 26,000 to 883,000, the worst total since 1996, Mr Grayling added that long-term unemployment was at the top of the government's "priority list." Other figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of unemployed women increased by 8,000 in the latest quarter to 1.14 million, the highest figure for almost 25 years. The figures also showed an 89,000 rise in the number of people working part-time because they could not find full-time jobs, to a total of 1.4 million, the highest figure since records began in 1992.