As many as 600,000 people could lose their jobs in Britain this year, making 2009 the worst year for unemployment since 1991, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The CIPD said a widely-expected recession would bite hard in Britain next year and could push unemployment close to the three million mark before the economy begins to recover.

John Philpott, CIPD’s chief economist, said in its annual Barometer Report: “By the end of 2009 the number of people unemployed and actively seeking work will have increased to 2.8 million, one million above the autumn 2008 figure. The first few months of the year are likely to be the worst for almost two decades.

“Our current expectation, based on available survey evidence and employer soundings, is that the number of redundancies will jump sharply in the early months of 2009, once employers take stock of the economic outlook. The period between New Year and Easter is likely to be the worst for redundancies since 1991.”

The CIPD’s warning came as another British retailer – children’s clothing shop Adams -fell into administration. The demise of Adams, which employs about 2,000 staff, follows that of other nationwide retailers including the chain store Woolworths, the music chain Zavvi, tea and coffee outlet Whittard, and menswear group The Officer’s Club.

The CIPD also conducted a survey of 2,600 workers and found that those employees who keep their jobs expect to have their pay frozen or even cut in 2009. Some 28% do not expect a pay rise in 2009, while 26% think their pay rise will be lower than in 2008. Only 11% are expecting a higher wage increase than last year and two percent expect a pay cut.