INSTANT VIEW - Jobless claims up for fifth straight month

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of Britons out of work and claiming benefits rose for a fifth straight month in June and by its largest amount since 1992, official data showed on Wednesday.

The jobless rate, however, stood at 2.6 percent -- a far cry from the near 10 percent that were out of work back in the early 1990s when the economy fell into a protracted recession.

Average earnings growth eased in May, in a sign that higher

living costs have yet to feed through to wages.

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KEY POINTS

- Weakest single month average earnings growth since June

2007, when it was 3.2 percent

- Biggest rise in claimant count since December 1992, when it rose by 71,000 and the unemployment rate stood at 9.9 percent