Determined to land a job, David Rowe from Cambridge pounded the streets of London in suit and tie, with a billboard attached around his neck advertising himself.

He even offered to work for the first month of his employment free of charge.

Mr Rowe said: “The first 20 paces are the hardest, you feel very conspicuous, but you just steel yourself to get on with it.

“I have debts of about £20,000, and that’s not excessive compared with how much some students owe when they graduate.”

Ivan Cooper, Chairman at debt management specialists Chiltern, said: “He must be commended as it’s a very proactive way to seek employment and deal with credit commitments.

“If everyone who was experiencing financial problems was as creative in finding ways to get out of debt, I’m sure there would be far fewer people needing professional debt help.”

The ingenuity has been recognised by employers too, and Mr Rowe has already been offered a number of jobs. One interviewer said: “I liked the fact he had thought out of the box. I was impressed by that.

“I was even more impressed after the interview. He’s very employable, so much so I offered him a job.”

But Mr Rowe hasn’t committed to anything concrete as such yet. He said: “I told myself I’d do the sandwich board for five days and I will follow through on that.”

In the three months to July, around 210,000 more people have been made unemployed, and the jobless figure now stands at 2.47 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

People claiming for unemployment benefit rose too in August to 1.61 million, up 24,400 from July – the highest on record in over twelve years.

As people’s household finances are impacted by the reduction in income, debt help organisations warn that the number of people struggling with their debts will soar.

Ivan Cooper, Chairman at debt management specialists Chiltern, said: “More people than ever are out of work and are finding re-employment difficult in the current jobs market.

“In all cases where you’re struggling to maintain payment, it’s worth seeking impartial debt advice.”

Employment minister, Jim Knight, said the government was doing all it could to return people back into work.

He said: “We’ve got to make sure that as we get back into growth, we grow jobs as well. That’s why we need an active government committed to tackling work, to tackling joblessness.”

Reputable companies like The Debt People, Hamilton Locke and Chiltern can offer simple and free debt advice, to help alleviate any debt problems, along with being able to recommend a suitable professional solution where necessary.

The level of unemployment is now at its highest since May 1995.

The figures released by the ONS, Office for National Statistics, showed that the jobless rate increased from 6.7% to 7.1%, and the number of people making unemployment benefit claims, during April, was up by more than 57,000 to reach 1.51 million.

The figures have caused concern amongst debt advice specialists, who are already struggling to deal with record numbers of consumers that are in financial difficulty. Since the start of the recession, many people have been hit hard financially, and are struggling to make ends meet.

Tens of thousands of people are behind with repayments on loans and credit cards and are in need of help programmes, such as a debt management plan or an IVA, in order to get then back on track.

The three month rise in the jobless rate was the biggest quarterly increase since 1981. News that unemployment is still rising, and is expected to keep going up for the foreseeable future will cause worry to a highly overloaded debt advice sector.

Many businesses are having difficulty keeping their heads above water, in these troubled financial times. The solution for many companies has been to reduce the cost of labour by reducing, or freezing, wages or by cutting the size of the work force with redundancies. Companies in a more precarious position are faced with the realistic prospect of having to shut up shop for good, leaving all of their staff out of work, and facing a gloomy future.

Debt advice specialists are urging consumers with financial difficulties to act sooner rather than later. They are recommending that help and advice should by sought, before things get out of hand and the only alternative left is insolvency.

This means that there are an increased number of people who will find repaying their outstanding unsecured balances (like overdrafts, personal loans and credit card debt) more difficult, and if left untreated these could develop into serious debt problems.

As a result, debt management organisations have seen the number of enquiries for their debt advice soar from the recently unemployed, as people struggle to maintain their current credit commitments.

The unfortunate workers who have either lost their jobs or who are finding employment increasingly difficult in the current climate will no doubt welcome the free debt advice being offered by reputable debt help organisations such as Chiltern, The Debt People and Hamilton Locke.

These trusted debt management companies can assist overstretched individuals to regain control of their finances through any difficult period, such as during unemployment, whilst ensuring that their credit commitments are being repaid.

Their debt management programmes include Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), Debt Management Plans (DMPs) and Trust Deeds amongst others.

Programmes like these enable debts to be combined into one easy-to-manage monthly payment, which is then distributed amongst all outstanding unsecured balances.

The amount that is paid each month is dependent on your disposable income. With a debt management plan, this can be altered according to your changing financial situation – so if you are temporarily out of work, and your income decreases, your payments can be lowered to reflect this.

Likewise once employment is found, and you’re receiving a regular wage again, your repayment can be increased again to repay debts faster.

With an IVA repayments are made over a fixed period of time (usually five years), after which all remaining unsecured balances are written off. Trust Deeds are also repaid over a fixed term (usually three years), however these are only for people living in Scotland.

If you would like to find out more about the debt management programmes available to you, or for some free impartial debt advice, please call the number at the top of this page.

The debt and IVA advice you receive will be free, and any programmes offered will be tailored to your situation.