The north west saw the biggest increase in unemployment of any UK region between November and January, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
In the north west unemployment rose by 16,000 between November and January, with 317,000 people now out of work, or 9.3 per cent of the working population. That is up 53,000 on the year.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the region also rose by 1,800 during February to 203,600, or 25,800 more than this time last year.
Dr Brian Sloan, chief economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: "The unemployment data released today shows that the north west region is losing jobs faster than any other region of the UK.
“In Greater Manchester, private sector job creation has also significantly weakened over the past couple of months.
“The figures showing a rise in the claimant count across Greater Manchester of 1,781 will also include a number of people being transferred from other benefits.
“There are signs that the situation is improving, but more must be done to support private sector investment, including the provision of infrastructure that will encourage that investment decision.”
Nationally, unemployment increased by 28,000 between November and January to 2.67 million - a near 17-year high.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased for the 12th month in a row, up by 7,200 in February to 1.6 million, the worst figure since the end of 2009.
But the number of people in work increased by 9,000 in the quarter to January to 29.1 million, while the 28,000 increase in unemployment was the lowest for almost a year.
Youth unemployment increased by 16,000 to reach 1.04 million, a jobless rate of 22.5 per cent.
And the number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 110,000 to 1.3 million, the highest since records began in 1992.
