The jobless figures were worse than expected, with 8.3% of the economically active population now out of work. They are, quite simply, the worse unemployment statistics for a generation.
The Bank of England Chairman, Mervyn King, also poured cold water on prospects for growth, suggesting that the UK economy could remain flat for several more months. He slashed growth forecasts for 2012 to just 1 percent - down from previous estimates of 2.2%. With forecasts like that, it's hard to see unemployment being curbed any time soon.
More than one million 16-24 year olds in the UK are now out of work, as the country's jobless total hits 2.62m, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Wednesday.
The growing number of young people in long-term unemployment - more than 200,000 have been out of work for more than 12 months - has reignited fears that the UK could be cultivating a "scarred generation" with many individuals who fail to fully connect to the workforce, experiencing a lifetime of reduced wages, lower job security and poorer mental wellbeing.
As usual with jobless figures, there's plenty of political reaction, and none of it was very optimistic...