Unemployment fell 36,000 to 2.455million in April
The number of women claiming jobseeker's allowance has hit a 14-and-a-half-year high as the claimant count continues to soar.
Experts had been expecting a decline of between 4,000 and 10,000 in the overall level last month but it actually rose by 12,400 to hit 1.47million.
This is the largest increase in 16 months, according to the Office for National Statistics, and came as overall unemployment fell by 36,000 to 2.455million.
Women claimants rose by 9,300 to 474,000 - its highest level since October 1996. Male claimants also rose, up 3,100 to 994,200.
The surge among women is a result of more single mothers switching from income support to JSA because of changes to benefit rules introduced in 2008.
The new figures were published after research showed students are applying for jobs almost a year before graduating because they are so scarce.
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2011 found more than a third of final-year students had applied by the end of last October and four-fifths by the end of February.
Experts warned unemployment was likely to rise in the coming months despite today's improvement as the Government's austerity measures bite.
Economists warned that unemployment is likely to head up over the coming months, despite the improvement seen in today's figures, as the Government's austerity measures bite.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: 'We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector that will result from the fiscal squeeze that is now really kicking in.'
The number of jobless 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 30,000 over the quarter to 935,000 and unemployment in 18-24-year-olds was down 29,000 to 724,000. .
The improved figures come just days after the Government unveiled a £60 million package aimed at boosting work prospects for the youth sector.
The number of unemployed men fell by 31,000 on the quarter to reach 1.43 million, while the number of unemployed women fell by 5,000 to reach 1.03 million.
Employment has increased, showing a 118,000 rise on the quarter to 29.24 million, but the figure is still 332,000 lower than the pre-recession peak reached in May 2008.
The latest increase was driven by full-time employment, which rose by 94,000 on the quarter to reach 21.3 million.
Total average weekly earnings, including bonuses, increased by 2.3 per cent in the year to March, the ONS said, a slight improvement on the year to February.
A toxic combination of muted wage growth and soaring inflation has clamped down on household spending power in recent months and the knock-on effect is hitting all sectors of the economy.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: 'It's good news to see that unemployment is also going in the right direction and pleasing that unemployment has fallen for young people.
'We're determined to tackle youth unemployment, which is why we've taken steps to ensure that young people get the best possible support to get back to work, including lining up thousands of employers to provide work experience places and introducing apprenticeship places.'
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