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LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - The number of Britons claiming jobless benefit rose less than expected in May but the rise was still enough to push the unemployment rate to its highest in more than a decade, official data showed on Wednesday.
The number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by 39,300 last month, much less than the 60,000 increase forecast by analysts. However, the rate rose to 4.8 percent, the highest since November 1997.
The Office for National Statistics said that on the broader ILO measure, the number of people without a job jumped by 232,000 in the three months to April, taking that rate up to 7.2 percent, the highest since July 1997.
The number of people in employment fell by 271,000, the biggest drop since records began in 1971.
Analysts said although the pace of job shedding appeared to have to slowed, it was too soon to say a turning point had been reached.
"It doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet because we'll see further rises as a lagged response to recent problems in the economy," said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank. "But we may see a more modest pace going forward than we might otherwise have expected."
Average earnings rose more than expected to 0.8 percent in the three months to April, reflecting the timing of bonus payments in the financial services sector, the ONS said.
Excluding bonuses, however, earnings growth was lower than expected, and the weakest since records began in 2001.
"Employees are suffering lower wage growth to protect jobs," said Amit Kara, economist at UBS. "You are seeing lower wage growth being compensated by less unemployment. That's the new deal." (Editing by Mike Peacock)