Quantity surveyors swamping dole offices

Quantity surveyors and architects are among the professions joining the dole queue at the fastest rate according to latest government figures.

The number of QSs out of work and claiming benefits has risen nearly six fold in a year, according to analysis by the Office for National Statistics seen by the Sunday Times.

The analysis shows that the number of quantity surveyors on benefit increased more rapidly than any other profession, rising from 100 to 590 during 2008. The number of architects out of work and claiming job-seekers’ allowance rose by 432% to 1,490.

More than 1.1m people were out of work and claiming benefits by the start of December – up from 787,000 the previous year.

On Thursday, official unemployment data is expected to show that the number of claimants rose by a further 89,000 during December.