London - The unemployment total in Britain rose to 1.97 million in December, reaching its highest level in 10 years, official figures showed Wednesday.

The unemployment rate stood at 6.3 per cent. The jobless total is expected to have surpassed the 2-million mark in January, as the deepening recession brought almost daily job losses.

"Things will certainly get worse before they get better. We would expect to see another significant increase in the number of people out of work in the figures published next month, as many more firms were forced to cut staff early in the new year," said Peter Mooney, head of consultancy with Employment Law Advisory Services. (dpa)