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%, 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.